Review: Horrible Bosses

The idea behind Horrible Bosses is pure comedy gold. Let’s face it, the thought of laying into a heavy-handed employer has crossed thousands of wage-slaves’ minds at one point or another. So the arrival of Seth Gordon’s quasi-black comedy, in which three drinking buddies (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis) agree to murder each other’s superior, is highly welcome. Yes, it’s as bit like Strangers On A Train, but with more sex jokes and a truckload of drug references.  

The casting of the titular bosses is spot-on. Colin Farrell goes through a hideous physical transformation to play cokehead chemical manager Bobby Pellitt and Jennifer Aniston turns in an astonishingly raunchy performance as dentist and part-time maneater Julia Harris. Meanwhile, anyone who has seen Peter Serafinowicz’s Acting Masterclass sketch will know that Kevin Spacey is at his most hilarious when playing a petty, ruthless, back-stabbing prick and his Dave Harken may just be a close relative of Swimming With Sharks’ Buddy Ackerman.

So far all the ingredients for a riotous laugh-fest are firmly in place, so you’d expect it would take a lot of effort on Gordon’s behalf to mess up what could’ve been the hit comedy to rival Hangover Part II. Unfortunately he goes and does just that. Like his protagonists, you get the feeling the director is out of his depth and never too sure of what he’s really doing.

First of all it would’ve been nice to come up with a half-decent plot to go with the terrific premise. Instead, we get the central trio aimlessly driving around LA trying to come up with gags and one-liners that may induce a few chuckles but never linger in mind.

Bateman and Sudeikis are both amiable and amusing as two average Joes taking their first awkward stab at murder. It’s Charlie Day who’s the problem. Pint-sized and shrill-voiced, he single-handedly manages to stink up every scene he’s in. It is clear from his fuzzy facial hair and quirky outbursts that he is supposed to be filling the Zach Galifianakis role in the picture, but has none of the latter’s charm. Why Jennifer Aniston’s sultry temptress is so desperate to bed him is beyond reason.

Finally, while the script’s lack of belly laughs has already been addressed, it is also opportune to tackle the underlying bigotry which permeates some of the film’s scenes. The one in which Sudeikis’ character drives his pals to a rough bar in search of a potential hitman for hire would’ve been a comedic highpoint had the venue not been exclusively populated by Hispanic and African-Americans. Instead, it comes off as ill-judged and racially prejudiced.

Perhaps Horrible Bosses would have benefited from a rewrite before going into production. Had the screenwriters polished a few gags and got rid of a couple of characters, those thousands of wage-slaves out there would have been treated to the revenge flick they craved so badly. As it turns out, all they get is a so-so comedy in which the bosses are the best thing in it.          

2/5