Horrible Bosses Review
About two months ago, in my review of Bridesmaids, I stated that the differences between men and women would be defined by Bridesmaids. Based on its box office success, women have responded appropriately. Now it's the men's turn. Horrible Bosses is every bit as funny as Bridesmaids, but without the clunky love story, getting in the way.
The real stars of the movie are the three horrible bosses themselves. Kevin Spacey lords over Jason Batemen in a similarly reminiscent fashion to his classic Swimming with Sharks role. He is demanding, treacherous, and devious. Jason Sudekis is tormented by Colin Farrell, a real son of a boss, and another b-word. Colin Farrell is unrecognizable as the swarthy, balding, incompetent Bobby. Then there is Jennifer Anniston. Who a nymphomaniacal dentist, who sexually harasses Charlie Day. She has the sex drive of a porn star, and the mouth of a sailor ("I really don't see your problem here" is often uttered to perfection).
So what are these three desperate men supposed to do about their respective problems? Well they could quit, but, as another desperate friend reminds them, that could be worse, a lot worse. So since they cannot quit, and are trapped in their jobs, well the next logical step is to go ahead and have their bosses murdered.
They seek out an expert, and come across a murder consultant in Dean Jones. Dean Jones is Played by Jamie Foxx who steals every scene he is in. Jones suggests that the men simply eliminate the other's problem. criss cross style. If this sounds familiar it is because it has been used as a plot device before. The first time was in Stranger on a Train. Truly one of Hitchcock's greatest suspense thrillers, more recently, and popularly known as the inspiration for Throw Momma from the Train.
The three men are not adapt at murder, they just don't have the heart or the stomach, and that's ok. We like them too much, and really don't want them to succeed at killing anybody, because then we couldn't root for them any longer. But because they are so inept at killing they do manage to create enough damage and chaos to lead to a happy ending with out the guilty conscience.
While it does get dark in places, Horrible Bosses is much more Throw Momma from the Train, than it is Strangers on a Train. It is very funny, and the three lead characters, (Bateman, Sudekis, and Day) play off of one another perfectly with impeccable timing. They have all the wit of Abbot and Costello mixed with the physicality of the Three Stooges. You rarely see all-star comedies with this kind of real chemistry, and I hope that these guys keep working together.
See, I just thought of this as potty-humor, and really not very sadly intelligent -- which was less than what I would have expected from this cast. The one scene that keeps flashing is when Kevin Spacey is berating his subordinate when talking about the dead mother. It looked like humor. It smelled like humor. But what we got was something that had a look and a smell of something a lot different. Oh, it was funny, even really funny at times, but there were other places where it fell flat. The most disappointing performance was from Jennifer Aniston, 'the squirted,' because she is capable of so much more. As a sexual object she looks good, and where's the problem if the boss just wants sex, sex, sex, but there was a point after which sex just wasn't a funny topic anymore. I liked it, but I was just expected more.
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