Looks like this Summer we’ve had a number of more, shall we say, raunchier / hardcore (I’m stretching it I know) comedies. Between monkeys nibbling nobs and large ladies taking shits in sinks, Horrible Bosses smashes it way onto big screens. If your wanting some incredible type of story here forget it.
Dale (Charlie Day), Nick (Jason Bateman) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) all work for, go on…have a guess…yup…you’ve guessed it. Horrible Bosses. These bosses come in the shape of a right militant, two faced Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey), a coked up, hooker loving, fat hating Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell) and simply put, a horned up Julia Harris (Jennifer Anniston). Collectively, the bosses are assholes and the bunch of friends decide to kill each others bosses. Mix this up with a number of funny hi jinks including tooth brushes and a little, slightly predictable twist and you have a comedy that will bring a smile or three to your mug!
That said, there’s not alot going on here really. The story doesn’t do much and the little OMG moment adds nothing either, only a few extra minutes to the running time. The characters themselves are really well done. The bosses, in particularly Kevin Spacey’s character is incredibly hateable. But the standout performance comes from Jennifer Anniston, who obviously has decided she needs to do a bit of a Cameron Diaz and swear a bit and actually get away from the usual drivel she spits out. And you know, it works really, really well for the former Friends star. If Horrible Bosses does anything at all, it highlights Anniston in a new light and shows she can say “pussy” and “cock” and finally use her sexuality. In fact, Anniston is unannistonised , and thats a good thing. As for the long suffering employees, well, like the rest of the cast, nobody breaks a sweat with the exception of Charlie Day who really pulls off an entirely likeable performance.
It’s not full of clichés and, for the best part it’s quite clever. It’s so clever that for a movie that’s got very little going on, it keeps you engaged. So credit to Seth Gordon (King of Kong, Four Christmasses!!!!) for that and he manages to keeps the thing trundling along for the best part.
Horrible Bosses isn’t going to set the boxoffice on fire, but it brings the occasional quality laughs and Anniston’s performance is probably worth the price of admission alone. Overall, this won’t be at the top of anybody's must see list, and there’s not much here, but you could watch alot worse on a Saturday night.
