Sunday, November 13, 2011

Horrible Bosses: Good for a few laughs

Nick, Dale and Kurt are all miserable at their jobs thanks in large part to their bosses. One night, after drinking heavily, they come up with a plan to eliminate them. They even go so far as to hire a murder consultant to help them go through with the evil deeds, but will they?

Taking its cue from the Alfred Hitchcock classic Strangers on a Train (or the Danny DeVito classic Throw Mama from the Train if you believe Dale), Horrible Bosses attempted to give the audience a comedic look at three guys trying to enact the ultimate scenario for those people that cannot stand their boss. Most of the laughs in the film were provided by those horrible bosses, which included Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell (who did not get nearly enough screen time as Kurt's cracked out boss Bobby) and Jennifer Aniston. Aniston in particular was hilarious as Dale's maneater of a boss Julia for the character was so unlike the "good girl" character she usually plays that every nasty comment that came out of her mouth (and trust me, there were a lot of them) was all the more shocking and funny. Jason Bateman and Charlie Day pitched in with some comedic gems of their own (Jason Sudeikis was just as slimy and unlikable as his boss Farrell) but the film failed to be anything more than a mean-spirited comedy with little to offer beyond its last gross-out gag or sexually charged line from Aniston.

This is not a bad thing, sometimes it's nice to just turn off one's mind and giggle at the insanity happening on screen but if you are looking for a comedy with layers and depth, Horrible Bosses is not the film for you.

Grade: C 

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