FILM REVIEW: HORRIBLE BOSSES

A scene from Horrible Bosses.

Hardly working

By Don Simpson

A lot of people have had horrible bosses and a lot of people are afraid of quitting their horrible jobs because of the high unemployment rates and stagnant job market. Director Seth Gordon’s (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters; Freakonomics) Horrible Bosses counts solely on these facts to draw people to the box office so they can pay outlandish ticket prices with the money they have earned from the jobs in which they feel hopelessly stuck. Pure and simple, Horrible Bosses is an escapist fantasy for and about the disenfranchised white middle-class workforce.

As is the trend with most Hollywood comedies of late, Horrible Bosses is based upon an idea that is as flimsy as a Saturday Night Live sketch and stretched out well beyond plasticity for 100 minutes. Technically, the narrative is comprised of a rough, mostly linear, outline of vignettes that begins with three haphazardly cross-cut stories about the unbelievable horribleness of Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale’s (Charlie Day) jobs or, more specifically, the unbelievable horribleness of their bosses, Mr. Harken (Kevin Spacey), Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell) and Dr. Harris (Jennifer Aniston), respectively. From there, the three guys begin to discuss and then foolhardily attempt to act upon the notion that if they murder their bosses their lives would be a hell of a lot better. After promptly shying away from a handsome man soliciting golden showers, the guys choose Motherfucker Jones (Jamie Foxx) to be their "murder consultant." Ridiculous, I know, but at least some of the dialogue is witty and funny.

Farrell relies upon a goofy prosthetic comb-over and coked-out glaze to draw laughs just as Aniston uses her ample bosom and trashy mouth to shock the audience into submission. Speaking of breasts and filthy pie holes, the women of Horrible Bosses (specifically Aniston and Julie Bowen’s character) are represented as one-dimensional sex objects -- unless, of course, they (specifically Lindsay Sloane’s character) are lulled into a happy daze by an engagement ring.

The definition of rape is repeatedly brought into question as is the ridiculousness of sex offender lists -- though both topics are bent over a barrel and shown the fifty states, if you know what I mean? (Hell, I do not even know what that means!) Toyota is mocked and ridiculed; the protagonists are lightly made fun of for being fumbling racists; pussies are scary; the Americanization (at least in name) of Indian telephone-support representatives is critiqued; and there is a relentless barrage of pop culture references, including blatant nods to Strangers on a Train, Good Will Hunting and Snow Falling on Cedars, of which some work better than others.

Horrible Bosses is definitely not as well-written or funny as Bridesmaids, but its certainly better than most of the other Hollywood comedies of 2011. If anything, I bet this film is much better than Zookeeper -- Horrible Bosses’ comedic nemesis this week at the box office. Of course, that is not saying much.