by Gary Sernaker, Reporter
Horrible Bosses is not a horrible comedy, it’s just a horrible example of how comedies are hobbled together today. There are some yuks, but not enough to sustain the laugh-out-loud quotient that should have been an easy mark to obtain, considering this movie’s all-star cast.
Kevin Spacey plays the role of Dave Harken (one of the three bosses from hell) and is quite believable as someone capable of making Nick (Jason Bateman) have a miserable life just for coming to work two minutes late when he’s required to start at 6:00 am. Colin Farrell is not only unrecognizable in a skin cap used previously by Bozo the Clown, but so shallow that he wants Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) to fire a disabled employee because he gets to use his “special chair” (though the reference to this employee as Professor X was pretty funny). Certainly having Jennifer Aniston as an oversexed dentist sexually harassing her hygienist, Dale (Charlie Day), must have seemed like a good idea. There is no question that she should be punished for many of her prior movies. However, her sexual transgressions indicate a more profound psychological imbalance than a malicious intent. Having her play a Dental Nymphomaniac also seems a little demeaning to female dentists who might also look very fetching in a while lab coat. Jamie Foxx is almost completely wasted, except for one really funny line about his character’s real name and why he needed a more threatening nickname.
Essentially, these three buds from high school are so miserable by their bosses that they decide to find a hit man to take them all out. One abortive effort to locate a killer online ends in a semantic redefinition of the term ‘Wet Work’ that includes golden showers. These three knuckleheads allow themselves to become conned by MotherF*****. Jones, played like he’s asleep by Mr. Foxx, in a role that probably would’ve earned Mike Tyson an Oscar. He becomes their mentor of sort, providing them the genius idea of each guy killing the other’s boss. With all of the movie references thrown around by these guys, they needed to pay five thousand dollars to essentially be reminded of Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train?
The immediate problem with this movie is that it cynically utilizes the pain and frustration that so many people have: Being stuck in dead-end jobs with unreasonable and mentally unstable bosses. In the old days, when Hollywood knew how to make real comedies, the main characters would concoct a plan to get their bosses fired or disgraced, and it did not involve breaking and entering. The feel-good ending (which attempts to avoid any of the main characters being responsible for the elimination of two of their bosses) is disingenuous and illogical. It completely ignores the fact that these guys were instrumental through their actions that resulted in the disposal of one of the bosses.
The depiction of most of the main female characters as sluts is not only not funny but incredibly irritating, not to mention disrespectful to women in general. Having Charlie Day as a happily engaged hygienist who puts up with the advances of Dr. Aniston because he’s a registered sex offender, was more than a bit contrived. Located adjacent to the bar where he had several drinks is a child’s playground, where Dale proceeds to take a leak, very late at night. This leaves serious questions about the zoning laws for that area that would’ve been funnier than most of this movie. True comedy makes fun out of the indignities and frustrations that most of us encounter on a daily basis. It gives Dale a chance to redeem his dignity and sometimes to strike out at the vested interests, and maybe even get the girl. Horrible Bosses didn’t give Day much of a chance to do anything at all, much less star in a genuinely good comedy.
ComicsOnline gives Horrible Bosses 3 out of 5 stars that tried to kill their bosses.
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