Horrible Bosses review
Studio comedies are a risky proposition, and that’s especially true during the summer when studios want broad movies that hit as many demographics as possible to recoup the insane marketing budgets required to even get noticed during the ultra-competitive warmer months. (This kind of thinking almost never leads to a good movie.) “Horrible Bosses” has the sort of high concept premise that I usually stay away from but its cast, led by Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, made me curious. Reviews were mixed but unenthusiastic so I didn’t expect much going into the film but that’s probably how it snuck up on me. The film stars the aforementioned trio as three friends who conspire to murder their horrible bosses (Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell and Kevin Spacey, all relishing the opportunity to do comedy).
While it’s true the film is broad, the 3 leads have great comic chemistry. Day, in particular, should get a boost from this film especially from anyone who hasn’t seen his manic performances on “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.” Though I didn’t love any of the bosses who were just too exaggerated for me, they had fun going all in for their characters. (I just could not suspend disbelief that anybody’s boss that looked like Aniston would ever do anything she does in this film.) But those are small issues. The film is just dark enough without feeling like it’s trying to hard, doesn’t attempt to one-up “The Hangover,” doesn’t feel as improv-heavy as Judd Apatow’s films and really seems to have it’s own comic identity, thanks mostly to the cast. Yes, it chickens out for a happy ending which should make it terrible but kinda makes it better. (Call it a light-dark comedy, is that a thing?) Though it’s a far cry from “Bridesmaids,” it is consistently funny and solidly entertaining and during summer you could do a lot worse.
