TAKE TWO: Horrible Bosses

Horrible Bosses

Rated: R

Starring: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Kevin Spacey

Director: Seth Gordon

Chris’ Take: Summer comedies are hit or miss most of the time. This summer has been primarily composed of some serious misses. We’ve gotten The Hangover 2, which while decent was far below expectations, Bad Teacher which had a lot of potential but floundered it in the final 10 minutes, and The Zookeeper…which at 15% on RT requires no explanation. I felt like I was wandering in a desert of poor comedy until I stumbled across the oasis that is Horrible Bosses.

Most people, at one point or another, have dealt with a horrible boss and made off-handed comments about “killing” them. The film Horrible Bosses takes this premise and runs with it. Nick, Kurt and Dale (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day) are close friends and each are dealing with a uniquely terrible boss. Nick’s boss, Dave (Kevin Spacey), is a twisted man who leads Nick on by promising promotions that he never intends to give and tricking him into drinking at work. Kurt’s boss, Bobby (Colin Farrell), is a crazy cocaine addict who fires people he doesn’t like or who creep him out. Dale’s boss, Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston), sexually harasses him while he is trying to remain faithful to his fiance. When all three bosses cross the line, the friends plot to kill each others’ boss and move on with their lives.

A great buddy comedy, even if it is a dark one, relies heavily on the chemistry between its leads, and Horrible Bosses came out in spades. Bateman, Sudeikis and Day provided great complements to each other, which is nice to see  because each of them have been floundering around in low caliber comedies recently, trying to make a stand without any support. Bateman never plays an out and out funny character, he is at his best when he can play the deadpan straight man to someone else’s zaniness.

Of course, there is one exception...Pepper Brooks.

Sudeikis’ comedy usually gets lost in a poor script, which he was able to overcome this time, and Charlie Day…

He was pretty much right at home.

Right below the stellar lead cast was a strong foundation of supporting characters. Kevin Spacey played the smart and cruel boss perfectly, giving the audience plenty of reason to make him the out-and-out bad guy in the story. Jennifer Aniston definitely let her more vulgar side show, and came out being funnier in this than anything she’s been in…ever. Colin Farrell was my personal favorite out of the three, because he plays the eccentric superbly. Outside of these three, there was another pleasant supporting actor, Jamie Foxx, who plays the man they hire to give them advice. I don’t normally like Jamie Foxx, but he was hilarious in this cameo and had several scene stealing lines.

The premise for the film is obviously preposterous, but I like how Seth Gordon and the writers made sure to not go completely dark with it. They ensured that each lead explored other options for coping with their bosses and reasons why they couldn’t just quit. While reaching the decision to kill their bosses is still outlandish, it was  at least nice to have a little nod towards intelligence.

There are few films where I think that should’ve had more time. Most of the films that are coming out these days could leave a good half hour of their films on the cutting room floor. Horrible Bosses comes in at 98 minutes, which is decent for a comedy, but it seemed to go by so quick and there were so many great characters that I felt each of them could’ve been fleshed out a little bit more. While Spacey plays a great role, he kind of hogged screen time from Farrell and Aniston, who were playing equally humorous parts in the story.

So, if you’ve been waiting for a comedy to catch your fancy this summer, and you enjoy yours a little on the dark side, this is the film you’ve been waiting for. The laughs come from start to finish and you will get wrapped up in the great chemistry and misadventures of these eccentric, yet relatable characters.

OVERALL: A-

Pac’s Take:  Horrible bosses excels because of a good script and a great cast.  If you look at some of the great comedies of recent times you’ll probably notice there is a trend, it takes more than one star taking the spotlight to make good comedy, or any good film for that matter, but I think Hollywood is just now starting to realize this.  Ensembles like Old School, Anchorman, andThe Hangover perpetuate this belief; and Horrible Bosses is the next great comedy in a growing list of shared star power.  As Chris stated, the three leads worked well with one another and the chemistry and reality of their friendship connected the audience with their plight.  The supporting cast: Spacey, Farrell, Aniston, and Foxx were excellent as well, though they probably all could have benefited from more screen time.

As evidenced from Farrell's end credit outtakes

 Chris also touched on how well the script covered its bases by forcing its characters into this situation.  Though it’s a comedy, it would have been a distraction to think that these characters resorted to murder when they simply could have quit.  It was a joy to watch their plans spiral out of control and it never felt unnatural as the three leads bumbled through their situation.  I was pessimistic that Charlie Day was going to skate into this film on the success of his role in It’s Alway Sunny in Philadelphia and disappoint his fans (which admittedly, I am not one).  However, I owe credit where it is due because he really shined in this film; and though it was scripted to be this way, he delivered most of the trio’s laughs. 

Finally, it was a joy to see Jennifer Aniston in this role.  There is no doubt that Jennifer Aniston is a talented actress but she’s made her career starring in mindless, boring romantic comedies.  To see her shed that skin (and some clothing) to play the sexually harassing boss of Charlie Day was a refreshing change of pace from her typical fare.  Odds are she’ll return to the same cookie cutter roles she previously occupied, but here’s to hoping this is the start of something new.

According to tabloids, playing crazy isn't much of a stretch for Aniston

The competition this season is not great by any means, leaving Horrible Bosses as a stand out comedy in a weak summer line up. 

OVERALL: A-

Opening this Week (08 July, 2011)

The holiday weekend proved to be a monster success for Transformers: Dark of the Moon with the film earning over $100 million domestically ($116M) and $416M globally through the 4th of July.  Last week’s other wide releases didn’t fare so well.  Larry Crowne bombed at the box office, finishing fourth behind Cars 2 (31.6M) and Bad Teacher (17.3M), both in their second week.  Monte Carlo (8.59M) was sixth at the box office behind Super 8 (9.3M).  Even with an expected significant drop off from this week’s total, I don’t expect Transformers to fall from the number one spot.

The Zookeeper

Rated: PG

Starring: Kevin James, Rosario Dawson and Leslie Bibb

Director: Frank Coraci

Synopsis from IMDB: A group of zoo animals decide to break their code of silence in order to help their lovable zookeeper (Kevin James) find love — without opting to leave his current job for something more illustrious. woman.

Trailer:

Chris’ Take: I expect come award season in February, this film will be nominated for more Razzie’s than any other, that is unless Twilight: Breaking Dawn pt. 1 can top it.  The jokes and videos circulating the internet about this film are probably all funnier than the actual film itself, and I wonder if the billable stars in this film are aware of the mockery,  James especially, with all the marketing he’s done for the film.  However, the sad reality of it all is that this film will probably be the highest grossing new release of the week.

Horrible Bosses

Rated: PG-13

Starring: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis

Director: Seth Gordon

Synopsis from IMDB: Three friends conspire to murder their awful bosses when they realize they are standing in the way of their happiness.

Trailer:

Chris’ Take: I have high hopes that Horrible Bosses will overcome the Jennifer Aniston curse and be a success.  With the three stars and a highly touted supporting cast I expect this film to be pretty funny, it helps that the trailers have done well not to give away too much either.  The early reviews for this film are strong (87% on Rotten Tomatoes) so hopefully that adequately reflects the quality of the film.

Limited Releases

Project Nim

Rated: PG-13

Starring: Bob Angelini, Bern Cohen and Reagan Leonard

Director: James Marsh

Synopsis from IMDB: Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s.

Trailer:

Chris’ Take: This documentary is directed by the same guy who directed Man on Wire, one of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of all time. The early reviews for this have been very positive (96% on RT). I like James Marsh’s approach of taking little snippets of history and fleshing them out so that they become something more significant in the broader scope of humanity. I’ll put this one on my Netflix when the chance comes.

Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest

Rated: R

Starring: Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammad

Director: Michael Rapaport

Synopsis from IMDB: Having forged a 20-year run as one of the most innovative and influential hip hop bands of all time, the Queens NY collective known as ‘A Tribe Called Quest’ have kept a generation hungry for more of their groundbreaking music since their much publicized breakup in 1998. Michael Rapaport documents the inner workings and behind the scenes drama that follows the band to this day. He explores what’s next for, what many claim, are the pioneers of alternative rap.

Trailer:

Chris’ Take: Seems more up Pac’s alley than mine, but recently documentaries have really intrigued me. Maybe I’ve become more aware of them in the last year since we started the blog, or maybe it was how I recently fell in love with Exit Through the Gift Shop, but whatever it is, I certainly am looking forward to more of these in the future. This looks similar to the Beastie Boys doc that came out this year. Maybe they should coin a term for this style, the rap-umentary.

The Ward

Rated: R

Starring: Amber Heard, Mamie Gummer and Danielle Panabaker

Director: John Carpenter

Synopsis from IMDB: A thriller centered on an institutionalized young woman who becomes terrorized by a ghost.

Trailer:

Chris’ Take: The Ward hasn’t been receiving positive reviews so far (40% on RT), but it is a new John Carpenter film, so I will probably give it a look. Hopefully, it won’t turn out to be like Wes Craven’s film My Soul to Take, which showed how a veteran horror director seems to be losing his touch. However, My Soul had a whopping (8%), so this is at least 5 times better than that.

Ironclad

Rated: R

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Jason Flemyng and Brian Cox

Director: Jonathan English

Synopsis from IMDB: In 13th-century England, a small group of Knights Templar fight to defend Rochester Castle against the tyrannical King John.

Trailer:

Chris’ Take: After watching the trailer, I don’t fully have a grasp on what’s going on besides a bunch of shouting. Paul Giamatti, even though I love the guy, when he shouts, he doesn’t inspire me, it sounds more like whining. I can’t really buy Giamatti as a leader, he is more of a sad sack everyman, but he could prove me wrong. The RT ratings are pretty low though, 37%, so there isn’t much hope for this film being good. I’ll probably pass on this one.