As I've mentioned before, writing comedy is really hard. Evidence of this can be found in the dozens of shitty "comedy" movies that Hollywood pumps out every year; movies with rehashed premises telling the same jokes we've heard a hundred times somehow get greenlit and make millions of dollars, because people are goddamn stupid. If you're going to use an idea that's been done before, you have to bring something new to the table, whether that be in putting an entirely new spin on a familiar story or simply by casting the right people in the right roles. Horrible Bosses falls precisely into this category. Yes, the premise is nothing new, but the cast is fantastic, and they manage to keep things fresh for the entire running time. It's certainly not without its faults, but it managed to keep me laughing, which is all I really ask from a movie like this.
Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day are Nick, Kurt, and Dale, three friends who hate their jobs and decide they need to kill their bosses. Think Strangers on a Train, but more ridiculous. Charlie Day was the entire reason I wanted to see this film, as I'm a huge fan of his work on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (if you're not already watching that show, do yourself a favour and start), and he certainly didn't disappoint. The bosses are played by Kevin Spacey, a psychopath, Colin Farrell, a coked-up asshole, and Jennifer Aniston, a nymphomaniac who inexplicably wants nothing but to have sex with Dale, despite the fact that he's got a voice like a strangled puppy and constantly acts like an idiot throughout the movie. Teaming up with a "murder consultant" named Dean "Motherfucker" Jones (played by Jamie Foxx), they bumble their way through the plot. There are no real surprises in the movie, so director Seth Gordon relies entirely on his cast to get laughs out of the audience, and definitely came through.
As surprising as it is (since I've never seen her in anything that I liked), Jennifer Aniston was the high point of this movie for me. There's something amazing about seeing Rachel from Friends spouting some of the filthiest shit you've ever heard to a stunned Charlie Day, and his reactions are priceless. Sudeikis and Bateman perform about as we've come to expect (with Bateman being the straight man in the movie, and Sudeikis getting the odd laugh here and there, although his inability to resist any woman becomes tiring quickly).
The movie suffers a bit from the fact that there are no surprises; you know exactly where the plot is going and how it's going to get there. Charlie is almost overused; it's like someone realized he was really good at the screamy rants, and so tried to have him do nothing but those. The final act should have been presented in a different order as well; narratively it would have made more sense. These are all minor nitpicks, however, that are quickly forgotten as soon as you think about Charlie dancing in the car while he's supposed to be keeping a lookout, or Colin Farrell (with an amazing combover) saying goodbye to the ladyboy masseuse leaving his house.
Overall, Horrible Bosses could have been better, but it also could have been much, much worse. As it is, the cast saves this movie. If you're a fan of Sunny, you'll like this, and if you're not, then I hate you. Get away from my blog*.
*I'm kidding. Please keep reading.
