Horrible Bosses: Ad-Libbing 9 to 5, What a Way to Make a Movie

So far this summer at the movies, we've been treated to the hijinks of bad bridesmaids, bad groomsmen and bad teachers. Now here comes a trio of horrible bosses in the accurately titled Horrible Bosses, a ragtag R-rated comedy that ekes out just enough big laughs to make it worth your time.

Though the film boasts a screenplay that's credited to a trio of scribes (including John Francis Daley, still known to some as little Sammy Weir from Freaks and Geeks), Horrible Bosses more often resembles a movie that was made up almost entirely on the spot and not just because the narrative is a mess. Where a comedy like the aforementioned Bridesmaids or The Hangover Part II follows a clear structure while still leaving room for improvisation, this one lurches from scene to scene as if director Seth Gordon was having such a good time watching his actors -- most of whom are skilled improvisers -- just riff off each other that he neglected to call "Cut." On the one hand, the movie's lackadaisical approach is frustrating because it's all too clear that, with a firmer hand at the wheel (like, say, Edgar Wright or Community's Joe and Anthony Russo), this could have been a tight, fat-free 90-minute blast of hilarity. At the same time, much of the pleasure of the film lies in watching the three heroes -- played by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day -- shoot the shit as best friends do, only occasionally remembering their characters' primary mission: to kill their bosses.

In its premise if not its execution, Horrible Bosses instantly brings to mind that 1980 workplace comedy 9 to 5, which also involved three fed-up employees (Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton) hatching a plan to teach their employer (Dabney Coleman) a lesson outside of work hours. Of course, in that movie, the women weren't interesting in actually killing their boss. They just wanted to convince him to mind his manners and not be such a, and I quote Ms. Fonda here, "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot." Clearly we live in more violent times, because for Nick (Bateman), Dale (Day) and Kurt (Sudeikis), the only obvious solution to improving their respective work situations is to off the person in charge. In Nick's case, that person is Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey), an asshole of the first degree who forces his underling to work around the clock all the while dangling a nonexistent promotion in front of him. Dental assistant Dale, meanwhile, is subjected to regular degradation and harassment by sexually ravenous dentist Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston). Finally, Kurt has to follow the increasingly insane orders of paranoid cokehead Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell), whose primary business plan is to sell the company and retire to a private island where he can snort that magical white powder off the chests of bikini-clad babes.

Having casually hatched their murder plot over a couple of beers, the trio are uncertain of exactly how to proceed. So they seek the counsel of an expert -- or, at least, someone that calls himself an expert -- one Mr. Motherfucker Jones (Jamie Foxx, handily winning this year's award for Best Character Name). In his infinite wisdom, Motherfucker advises them to gather intel on their targets and then divide the killings between them, making sure that no employee kills his own boss. This leads to the movie's funniest sequence, in which the guys break into Pellitt and Harken's houses to collect information and almost wreck both places instead. Their bumbling also inadvertently sets in motion events that lead one of the bosses to complete a hit for them. At that point, they abandon plans to off the surviving supervisors and instead focus on keeping their asses out of jail for a crime they planned to -- but didn't actually -- commit.

As previously mentioned, the actors are the primary reason why Horrible Bosses doesn't completely collapse on itself despite the lack of a strong narrative foundation. None of the leads bother playing characters per se, instead mostly falling back on their standard, but reliable comic personas -- sarcastic and deadpan for Bateman, manic and spazzy for Day and jovial and goofy for Sudeikis. A blooper reel that plays over the closing credits reveals how much of their dialogue they invented on the spot, as well as the fun they had mixing it up together. That sense of fun mostly comes through in the finished product. The folks playing the bosses seem to be enjoying themselves as well, with Spacey pushing his inherent smugness far past the legal limit while Farrell (his handsome features obscured by ugly facial hair and a fake comb-over) gleefully chews the scenery like an off-the-wagon refugee from Celebrity Rehab. Aniston also gets off a few good one-liners as the predatory dentist, but she has the misfortune of being trapped in the film's most ill-conceived storyline that's far less funny in execution than it probably was in the pitch session. Call me old-fashioned, but it's hard to laugh at a scene where a character screams "Rape! Rape!" while being aggressively felt up against his will. Fortunately, that's about as horrible as the otherwise agreeable Horrible Bosses gets.

It's Tubey Time! Make sure that your favorite shows, actors, reality stars and characters get the recognition they deserve by voting in our annual Tubey awards. It's where fans have total control over what rates as the best and worst of the past year in a variety of categories. Vote now!

6 Comments

July 9, 2011 7:42 AM
JEREMY
Reply

One thing I really like about this film is that touches on something The Divine Ms. Oprah always turned a blind eye to:
WOMEN BOSSES CAN BE JUST AS SEXIST AND PREDATORY,IF NOT MORE SO,THAN THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS.THEY GET AWAY WITH IT BECAUSE OUR LIBERAL JUDICIAL SYSTEM ALWAYS FAVORS THE FEMALES.

July 9, 2011 7:43 AM
JEREMY
Reply

One thing I really like about this film is that touches on something The Divine Ms. Oprah always turned a blind eye to:
WOMEN BOSSES CAN BE JUST AS SEXIST AND PREDATORY,IF NOT MORE SO,THAN THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS.THEY GET AWAY WITH IT BECAUSE OUR LIBERAL JUDICIAL SYSTEM ALWAYS FAVORS THE FEMALES.

July 9, 2011 7:50 AM
JEREMY
Reply

Sorry about that echo,but you gotta admit the sentiment DID actually bear repeating.
Seems most would prefer to sweep the matter under the rug quickly.

July 9, 2011 11:17 AM
Craig
Reply
replied to comment from JEREMY

I often find obvious political agendas are much easier to take seriously when they are being bellowed in all caps. I am eagerly awaiting your follow-up statement about how straight white males are constantly being the victims of discrimination. If you could throw in the term "men's rights" without a single shred of irony, that would be peachy keen.

July 10, 2011 7:56 AM
jbj
Reply

I don't get what Oprah has to do with the legal system. Also, while I can see men being less-likely to file sexual harassment charges because of social stigmas (which their own gender placed on themselves, btw), I cannot see a court of law (particularly not a liberal one) throwing out a SUBSTANTIATED sexual harassment claim made by a man.

July 29, 2011 10:06 PM
motherfucker jones
Reply

just saw this movie, laughed alot through 90 minutes, sometimes rather loudly.
much better than the slapstick of the original hangover...which got boring

Loading...

Add a comment

TWoP Toolbar

BLOG ARCHIVES

The Moviefile

January 2012

12 Entries

December 2011

27 Entries

November 2011

22 Entries

October 2011

22 Entries

September 2011

29 Entries

August 2011

27 Entries

July 2011

30 Entries

June 2011

25 Entries

May 2011

13 Entries

April 2011

23 Entries

March 2011

22 Entries

February 2011

33 Entries

January 2011

39 Entries

December 2010

21 Entries

November 2010

29 Entries

October 2010

23 Entries

September 2010

25 Entries

August 2010

26 Entries

July 2010

29 Entries

June 2010

36 Entries

May 2010

22 Entries

April 2010

26 Entries

March 2010

30 Entries

February 2010

19 Entries

January 2010

19 Entries

December 2009

15 Entries

November 2009

21 Entries

October 2009

27 Entries

September 2009

30 Entries

August 2009

28 Entries

July 2009

34 Entries

June 2009

27 Entries

May 2009

24 Entries

April 2009

23 Entries

March 2009

18 Entries

February 2009

30 Entries

January 2009

56 Entries

December 2008

51 Entries

November 2008

61 Entries

October 2008

102 Entries

September 2008

86 Entries

August 2008

99 Entries

July 2008

116 Entries

June 2008

95 Entries

May 2008

86 Entries

April 2008

67 Entries

March 2008

14 Entries