Admit it. We've all thought about it. Out of anger, embarrasment or sheer frustration, we've all at some point--on some level, fantasized about it: Offing the boss! Let's see. during high school and college, I had five jobs and five bosses. There was one of those that I would've gladly stuck in a shark tank wearing a pair of bloody, meat slippers. In the five years between college and starting BrandVision Marketing, I had two jobs and seven different bosses. Of those seven, I would have happily offered five of those to the firing squad on various ocassions. My point, you ask? Hmm...that I'm a sadist? No. That I'm human. Just like Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis).
They hate their bosses and with good cause. Nick is in line for the GSM position. He's spent painstaking years kissing the butt of one Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) in hopes of being promoted. Harken is the CEO and poised to pull the trigger on the ole promotion. Unfortunately for Nick, the trigger is pulled and Dave promotes himself to the position. That's not Nick's only gripe. Dave is pretty much a wretched human being who cuts no one an ounce of slack, not even when Nick's Gam-Gam is nearing death. Meanwhile, there's Dale. He's a dental assistant for Dr. Julia (Jennifer Aniston). Dr. J is just another dental professional...that is, until the gas takes effect. You see, when the patient is knocked out, Dr. J is ready to play. Play is exactly what she wants from the engaged Dale, but he's having none of it out of fidelity to his betrothed. Finally, we have Kurt. He actually loves his boss and is next in line and assured that one day he'll be running the show. It looks like he's even going to usurp nepotism and surpass the owner's lazy, obnoxious gigilo of a son. That is, until the ole man kicks it, leaving the son in charge by the default of inheretence.
None of our heroes can really leave their jobs--for various reasons. So, the logical thing to do is simple: Off the boss. They're not pros, however, so they reach into the dregs of society to find someone capable of such a horrific act. Enter MotherFucker Jones (Jamie Fox). MF (we'll call him) asks for a cool $30K to do the deed, but his Buffalo Bill-like negotiating tactics see him settle for $5,000. Of course, he then pulls a switcharoo on our boys, deciding to provide mere instruction on how to kill these horrible bosses. Yadayadayada the fellas set out to do exactly that while running into various obstacles and a hopeful happy ending.
It's good. I'll go with 4.0 Stars here. It's funny and entertaining throughout its 100 minutes. Bateman is, well...Bateman. He brings his standard serious, but cynical, dry wit to the group's various outrageous endeavors. I was not familiar with Charlie Day, prior to this flick. At first glance, I thought his character was setting up to be a mirror of Zach Galifiankis' character in The Hangover, but the more you get to know Dale, there's no copycat here. There is some similarity. Dale can be pretty naive, but he's not nearly the psych job that Alan is in those two flicks. Day makes the distinction well and in an entertaining way. Finally, Jason Sudeikis--he surprised me here. I didn't know if he could pull off 'Lady's Man' after convincing me that he could play a complete moron in Hall Pass. Cudos to Jase--he nailed it. Plus, Spacey--typically great and was here as well. Aniston--love her usually and loved her here. Farrell--hmm, never been a huge Colin Farrell fan, but he was pretty funny as the bigotted, obnoxiously entitled son.
Good acting with an entertaining and humorous storyline that provides just enough twists and turns to keep things interesting. That's Horrible Bosses in a nutshell and probably one you should see Big! Sure, it'll be out in November on Blu-Ray, but why wait? It might even give you a few good ideas of your own. Of course, if you currently work for BrandVision Marketing, it's a movie that you should avoid COMPLETELY! Just get back to work and don't give it a second thought!!!
True...OUT!
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