Horrible Bosses

Released: 2011

Directed By: Seth Gordon

Starring: Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day, Jason Bateman

Certificate: 15

Reviewed By: Darryl Griffiths

The demands of day to day work would seem strenuous to any normal human being. But of course, this is always accentuated to a horrible extreme.. if your boss is a five star douchebag. Many would whimper and keep themselves to themselves, but what if you were the exceptions who just.. snapped? With the likes of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day at the forefront of such a scenario, this can only lead to ridiculous and comical results.

Our quick witted protagonists Nick (Bateman), Kurt (Sudeikis) and Dale (Day) have had to deal with the intolerable natures of their bosses in their respected professions, for a considerable period of time. Kurt has dealt with the kung fu fighting, fat hating Colin Farrell (with an impressive receding hairline!), who has recently taken over the business from his deceased father (Donald Sutherland). Dale, is under constant threat from a promiscuous nymphomaniac dentist in the form of Jennifer Aniston and last but not least.. Spacey is a self centred power hungry financier always piling on the hours and pain on Nick.

Making a pact together albeit in a drunken state, they go on the hunt for a ‘hitman’ to help them take out their superiors and what a bad motherfucker they find. Motherfucker Jones to be exact, played by Jamie Foxx. Despite the words of ‘wisdom’ they receive, their attempts fail in miserable fashion.

The drawbacks are pretty straightforward. The limited premise and scattershot plotting eventually causes the film to run out of steam as it sorts to find a respectable conclusion. In addition, it might have a title called ‘Horrible Bosses’, but it’s safe to imply that only Spacey (on show stealing form) gets a decent portion of screentime, with Aniston and Farrell although impressive fading quickly into the background.

Its key strength is undeniably the central trio of Bateman, Day and Sudekis with their laid back improv style garnering frequent laughs, with the occasional real rib tickler. It’s not particularly intelligent with its targets to joke about, occasionally coming off as misogynistic. But considering i’ve liked similar fare in recent times such as The Hangover, i’d be a little hypocritical to criticise the film on those grounds.

Never gonna win the top gongs, but embrace it for what it is, and you’ll be entertained!