There's an old saying that goes: "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." That's the kind of occupation that we all crave, one where we can put our talents and dreams to good use so we can be happy and successful. You can't, however, enjoy your job if you're being supervised by a ghastly boss. We've all either had one or had a friend with one. They are those that make the workday seem longer and make us reluctant to clock-in everyday. Some of them tantalize us with rewards if we do their demeaning bidding. All of this, and more, happens in the workplace dark-comedy, Horrible Bosses. If you think you have it bad at your job, it's nothing compared to what the three friends have in this high-stakes murder caper.
Nick (Jason Bateman) is a dedicated worker who's at the office from sunrise to sundown. He's aiming for a big promotion that his boss (Kevin Spacey) keeps hinting is Nick's. When his boss gives the position to himself, Nick is resentful. Meanwhile, Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) is suddenly disliking his job at a chemical plant when his recently deceased boss (Donald Sutherland) gives the company to his incompetent son (Colin Farrell). Dale (Charlie Day) is a dental assistant to Julia (Jennifer Aniston). While constantly being sexually harassed by her, Dale's engagement to his girlfriend is at risk. These three friends are finally fed up, and hatch a plan to murder each other's boss. With the help of their murder consultant (Jamie Foxx), Nick, Kurt and Dale will turn the tables on their employers.
The three leads all have equal shots at bringing the laughs. Jason Bateman delivers is lines with bite. He's the logical center of the trio (because every group needs one) who tries to keep his friends in line in order to complete their murderous mission. Jason Sudeikis prolongs the trend of Saturday Night Live stars succeeding in big screen comedies. His character is the hilariously irresponsible clique member who accidentally finds new ways of jeopardizing the operation. He also gets many of the film's cascade of one-liners. Charlie Day is a loose canon who's always at danger of firing. He commands the humor while he's on screen. When trying to help his friends, something always goes terribly wrong; but we still love him for the unpredictable live wire that he is.
We can't forget about our horrendously horrible bosses. Kevin Spacey is evilly good as Bateman's manager. He's a paranoid and sadistic psycho, a devil incarnate in the office area. Jennifer Aniston is certainly not the same person as she was when playing the loveable Rachel on Friends. She's far from it. Boundaries don't exist for her character. Aniston played a disgruntled employee in the 1999 film Office Space. In this, she's on the other side of the spectrum. As a highly promiscuous dentist, Aniston does anything, and I mean anything, to make her assistant feel uncomfortable. Colin Farrell changes up his usual game as well. Sporting a comb-over, he's a cocaine-addicted slacker who loves kung fu. Jamie Foxx is a riot as the friends' shifty murder consultant. Thankfully, he's given a much better and funnier character than he had in last November's comedy Due Date.
In film and television, we often just see unhappy workers suffer through whatever their bosses have them do. In the screenplay by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, it's revitalizing to see these three friends set out to do the dirty deed. There is an unexpected twist halfway through the film that kicks it into high gear. The downside of that is this causes Nick, Kurt and Dale to fix their main focus on Kevin Spacey's character; so as for the other two bosses, Aniston is almost forgotten about until the end, and SPOILER ALERT (sort of), you'll have to see what happens to Colin Farrell. With the dueling trios of employees and supervisors, however, it's enough to forgive the flaws. For an hour and a half, the workplace is shown to be an area where anything can happen.
Final grade: B+
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