Before I begin, I would like to offer a disclaimer. I love comedies, and a lot of my favorite movies are heavily comedy-based. But when a writer/director gets a bunch of A and B-list stars together to say funny things, and basically writes the entire plot based on the actors and actresses, I am immediately deterred from seeing it. Comedies have almost entirely to do with chemistry; the actors have to work off of each other naturally and easily, so that the viewer feels part of the moment. And when you get a bunch of big names all together, the movie often feels forced and fake. Needless to say, this was my main concern when I saw the billboards for “Horrible Bosses”. But let me tell you – this just wasn’t the case.
The story revolves around three friends (the buddies since high school kind) with different unappealing jobs. Nick (Jason Bateman) works dusk to dawn everyday for his psychopathic boss, Mr. Harken (played by Kevin Spacey). Dale (Charlie Day) is a dental assistant whose female boss (Jennifer Aniston) sexually harasses him at any opportunity she can get, despite the fact that Dale is soon to be married. Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) doesn’t dislike his boss, but does dislike his boss’s tool for a son (Colin Farrell), who takes over after his father’s death. The three constantly have bar talks, complaining relentlessly about their bosses and how much easier off they would be without them. One day, the bar talks escalate into a full out drunken rant, in which one of the guys hypothesizes that they kill each of their bosses. Naturally, as the guys get desperate, they decide to go through with the plan.
The plot isn’t brilliant; in fact, a lot of it is relatively predictable. The thing that makes the plot work, however, is the great chemistry between characters. The chemistry in “Horrible Bosses” is real, and honestly, a little bit unexpected. Every single one of the main actors in the film played their part with hilarious perfection, and looked as if they had a genuinely good time making the movie. You could tell that the actors were friends off the screen, and that they had no problem working with each other.
As all good comedies should, “Horrible Bosses” has plenty of great quote moments to recite with friends (a la “The Hangover”). The film doesn’t take itself too seriously, so even in the midst of a fairly unrealistic plot, you never get the feeling that it is too zany. Any comedy fan should definitely see this movie, because it delivers on every level a comedy should. Oh, and Charlie Day is absolutely hilarious.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
