Horrible Bosses

Rating:

Nick, Dale and Kurt are average Americans with reasonable and respected intentions in life. Some of their aspirations are no different from our own. Nick is the hard-working office employee who is always the first to arrive and the last to leave. He dreams of a big promotion, which he clearly deserves. Dale is committed to the woman he loves. His plan is to marry her, sustaining their relationship through his earnings as a dentist’s assistant. Kurt is content with his role in the chemical company he’s in. He smiles in the thought that he could one day be in charge. Nick, Dale and Kurt are such harmless, typical fellas that, when they agree that it would be best to kill their bosses, we wonder how evil their superiors could be.

The bosses in “Horrible Bosses” are indeed what the title suggests them to be, and more. Besides being horrible, they’re also psychotic, perverted, delusional, and mean. They make other people’s life miserable because they can. They take advantage of their authority by engaging in activities that can only be classified as either immoral or illegal. I describe these bullies from observations I made during office hours. How do these people entertain themselves on a Holiday?

The first of three bosses is Dave Harken, played by Kevin Spacey. Dave is so skilled at publicly humiliating others that he might as well host the next Oscars. Dave knows that he can easily make Nick’s dream come true, but won’t. Next up is Jennifer Anniston’s Dr. Julia Harris, the world’s horniest dentist. Julia’s instinctive habit of seducing the nearest conscious male would make an ordinary man rejoice, especially if you’re her assistant, but not Dale. He fears that Julia’s regular sexual stunts will jeopardize his engagement. And then there’s Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell), who has recently took command of the chemical company that employs Kurt. Because everything that Bobby touches turns to a strip club, Kurt is not confident that the company will last long.

Reliable critics claim that, if you want a great villain for your movie, you need to (1) have the right actor play the role, and (2) let him or her have fun with it. It’s easy to say that Spacey, Aniston, and Farrell thoroughly enjoyed their visit on the opposite side of the conflict. In an age where most villainous roles are given to Mark Strong, you can’t blame the three for making the most of their opportunity. Extra credit is given to Aniston who surprises the audience by finally trying something different. It’s about time she took a break from the undemanding genre of the romantic-comedies.

As for the film’s heroes, their comedy is found in the fact that they are idiots when it comes to murder. If these people attempted to fulfill their mission in the real world, they’d be in jail by dinnertime. The movie allows them to be invisible idiots to maximize the gags.

“Horrible Bosses” is a funny movie, but I wouldn’t recommend it to people with ears not used to frequent mentions of private parts. Like many recent R-Rated comedies, it follows the footsteps of “The Hangover”, which proved that dark comedies could be a huge financial success. I’m happy for them, but don’t expect me to support a sequel. I don’t mind if I never get to know what these crazy bosses do on a Holiday.