HORRIBLE BOSSES (18)
Release Date: 11 August 2011
Running Time: 97 minutes
Distributor: Warner Bros Pictures/New Line Cinemas
Director: Seth Gordon
Screenplay: Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein
Starring: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx
Plot: For Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day), the only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable would be to grind their intolerable bosses (Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Aniston) into dust. Quitting is not an option, so, with the benefit of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con (Jamie Foxx), the three friends devise a convoluted and seemingly foolproof plan to rid themselves of their respective employers... permanently. There's only one problem: even the best laid plans are only as foolproof as the brains behind them.
Review: The summer when there is absolutely no shortage for some round of fun, raunchy, hilarious and R-rated comedy; “Horrible Bosses” emerges as one of the best comedy movies of the year. By the way, there aren't that much that falls in this category by the way. Sure, there are plenty of reasons why “Horrible Bosses” works as a package of escapist summer dose of fun but there are also some reasons why it may get the despised-button been hit at the end of the day. No matter what, “Horrible Bosses” possesses the exact formula like the recent runaway hit “Bridesmaids” - by offering all stuffs on the table and nothing holds back.
In “Horrible Bosses”, three best friends Nick Hendriks (Jason Bateman), Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) abd Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) despise their bosses. Nick works at a financial firm for emotionally-abusive Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey). Nick has always his way up to ensure his promotion to the VP position on his company only to found out that Harken has been using Nick to allow him to assume that post himself. Meanwhile, Dale who works as a dental hygienist suffers sexual harassment from his boss Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) who threatens to falsely tell Dale's fiancee that he had sex with her unless he actually has sex with her.
Kurt enjoys working with his boss Jack Pellitt (Donald Sutherland) in a chemical company but then suffers the same fate with his friends after Jack dies from a heart attack. The company is now taken over b Jack's cocaine-addicted, tool son Bobby (Colin Farrell). One night, Kurt jokingly talks about killing their bosses, even if that felony could have saved many peoples in their companies from suffering the same harassment and mistreatment. Although they dismiss the idea, they eventually agree to the idea. The three turn to Dean Motherfucker Jones (Kamie Foxx), an ex-con who agrees to be their “murder consultant”.
The biggest asset for “Horrible Bosses” has to be coming from the acting department. It's a dream cast. It boosted with a powerful performance that is adequately immersible and fun. The bosses are damn horrible while their underlings are damn pathetic. On one side, three lesser-known stars in the dynamic package of Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis are the underdogs pitted in the arena to fight against three well-known stars in the horribly-attitude assigned in the names of Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Aniston on the other side. There; the casting is big and bold; thankfully they are able to pull off their job pretty well. Spacey is able to bring his own diabolic into the scene, making everyone got squeezed into timidity. Aniston is deliciously perfect as a man-eater while the three 'sad-case' employees are perfectly suited in their shoes of problems. What I can say is that “Horrible Bosses” plays well according to each others strength rather than relying on just borrowing big names to flash the audience.
The other reason why “Horrible Bosses” works well is the fact that it raises the bar of no-hold-back black comedy to a whole new level. Although it might fell off into “not-so-original” plot, “Horrible Bosses” is still able to mesmerize the audience by challenging the border of sex talk, drug use and screaming profanity-fueled conversation. Not only it challenges it so well, it turns them into the main concept to drive the plot into a fun riddance. Unlike The Hangover Part 2 which has basically the same elements of raunchy and nasty, this movie uses all to form well-rounded and well-built story arc of killing their bosses.
Of course, you might be noticing how this kind of comedy could have kill plenty of brain cells in trade for summer fun. Of course, it is ridiculously fun to see three depressed middle class workers attempting a homicide against their bosses. However, you have to admit that the premise itself is as good as it is shown. You also may have to admit that the plot sounds smarter than you think. It is a little unfortunate that the script could have been more attentively executed with carefree and wild energy aura. Then, you cannot discounted the fact that the movie lays a lot of connection by keep on quoting the famous one-liners from lots of classic movie.
Here's some bad news - while "Horrible Bosses" keeps thing in a nasty way by pushing the limits to a whole new level, it oversteps the line by touching certain issues way too racism, homophobic and misogynistic with common stereotype. Now, why is the black will always be the asked to work as a "murdering consultant"? Now why would "Gregory" brought them to a bar filled with the blacks and Hispanics in which he deemed it as the top place with "the highest incidence of car-theft"? Don't get me wrong, the joke is workable but some may think it been insensitive to the others. If that issue does not bother you, the decision to censor scenes and just cut it away in a disturbing high frequency is a mood killer.
THE RATING:
Story: 3.5
Casts: 4.5
Cinematography: 3.5
Effects: 3.5
GREEN-TEA-O-METER: 15.4/20.0
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