‘Horrible Bosses’ Delivers Playful Raunch

There are few things more contemptible or commonplace than a horrible boss. Just look at the global success of “The Office,” with its painfully depiction of an inept manager who fails to realize that his employees can see right through him. This character has been embraced and reinterpreted by a variety of cultures, thus proving that the such bosses are universal.

The title Horrible Bosses has a bluntness that is utterly irresistible, particularly for disgruntled nine-to-fivers desiring to vent through their comedy. It also sets up a priceless gag to be whispered behind the backs of unsuspecting tyrants.

For moviegoers plagued with a hellish workplace, here’s a line guaranteed to produce a chuckle: when someone asks you what your plans are for the day, reply, “I’m seeing Horrible Bosses...and then I’m seeing the film.”  

All kidding aside, this playful comedy from director Seth Gordon is a breezy delight with enough laughs to warrant a ticket purchase. It doesn’t aspire to be anything like “The Office,” since the script’s preference for slapstick over satire culminates in a farce more trivial than relatable.

The large cast of comedic talent appears to have been encouraged to riff as often as possible, creating an improvisational atmosphere modeled after Apatowian gems such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Superbad. Unfortunately, the banter in this film merely sounds like riffing better suited for an Saturday Night Live sketch. With a weaker cast, the film may have flopped, but this spectacular ensemble manages to sell the material despite its limitations.

As deadpan protagonist Nick, Jason Bateman once again proves that he has one of the funniest no-nonsense stares in modern show business. He plays the long-suffering employee of an icily sadistic monster (Kevin Spacey, who else?) who goes out of his way to humiliate the pathetic souls trapped in his clutches. Turns out that Nick’s friends are faring no better: Dale (Charlie Day) is tirelessly harassed by a nymphomaniac dentist (Jennifer Aniston), while Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) watches in horror as his late, beloved boss is replaced by the deceased man’s drug-addled son (Colin Farrell). Wracked with exasperation, the three bitter yet bloodless mates decide to kill their bosses. It’s not an act of homicide so much as it is a public service. 

Bosses is a massive improvement over Gordon’s previous comic effort, 2008’s woefully unfunny Four Christmases, but it’s still nowhere near as uproarious as his 2007 documentary, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, which is surely one of the most entertaining films in recent years, nonfiction or otherwise. That picture centered on a Donkey Kong competition waged by grown men vying for the title of world champion. Gordon’s juxtaposition of a sweet doofus (Steve Wiebe) and his cartoonish sinister opponent (Billy Mitchell) is thrice repeated in Bosses, though Kong benefited from being the real deal. Wiebe’s brief cameo as a security guard only intensifies memories of Gordon’s enduring masterwork.

Yet Gordon's newest flick delivers its own distinct brand of pleasures. The comedic chemistry between its three developmentally arrested leads is stronger and more natural than the forced camaraderie shared by Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover. Like many recent R-rated comedies, Bosses does seem to have modeled its characters after the unlikely Hangover trio, with Day (best known as Charlie on cable series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) functioning as the Galifianakis-style idiot.

For much of the first half, Day easily steals the show with his cracked voice and intense unease. Once he spirals into hysteria during the second act, Day’s tantrums become more grating than amusing, though he does deliver an unprintably dirty monologue late in the picture that inspires a great deal of guffaws.

As for the ensemble, Spacey brings real pathos to what could’ve easily been a cardboard villain, while Aniston (sporting sleek brunette locks) delivers her finest comedic work since 1999’s Office Space. In contrast, Farrell’s obnoxious character is basically a one-note joke, wasting the talents of an actor who has recently proven to be at the top of his game. Jamie Foxx also has little to do as an overpaid murder consultant, but his role inspired screenwriters Michael Markowitz (TV's Becker), Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley (a.k.a. Sam Weir on Freaks and Geeks) to dream up many of their best lines.

One gag involving the 1999 Ethan Hawke vehicle Snow Falling on Cedars is guaranteed to tickle the funny bones of movie buffs. 

Horrible Bosses opened June 29 at the AMC Showplace Village Crossing 18 and Regal Gardens 7-13 in Skokie. The R-rated movie was second behind the latest Transformers, generating an estimated $28 million in weekend ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo.

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