Horrible Bosses (2011) R

I wasn't the only one highly anticipating Horrible Bosses arrival. While reviews haven't exactly glorified this picture, I knew it would be funny enough for my taste. This film obviously bolsters a terrific cast, but up-and-coming director Seth Gordon (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Four Christmases) added to the intrigue. As far as comedies go, this is an above-average attempt. While it's not ground-breaking, it has plenty of laughs to go around. I'm going to throw this out there right now; there will be some harsh language in this review as some of the characters and circumstances warrant it. There are some breakout performances to keep an eye out for, especially from "Saturday Night Live" veteran Jason Sudeikis (What Happens in Vegas, Going the Distance). We all know "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star Charlie Day (Going the Distance) is extremely amusing, so that's nothing new.

The film opens with three introductions. First we get to know Nick (Jason Bateman). Nick works at a very lucrative financial firm. He's one or two steps away from getting a huge promotion. However, his boss Dave (Kevin Spacey) is a complete jerk-bag who is obsessed with himself. Nick believes Dave is on the verge of giving him a promotion, but after Nick shows up two minutes late to work one morning everything changes. As seen in the trailer, Dave forces Nick to drink a large glass of scotch and begins rumors that Nick is a raging alcoholic. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

We then get to know Dale (Charlie Day). Dale is registered sex-offender who works as a dental assistant. His boss is the gorgeous but completely insane Julia (Jennifer Aniston). Julia sexually harasses Dale on daily bases. Most men would be ecstatic with his situation, but Dale is engaged and is repulsed by Julia. She often walks around the office in nothing but panties and her work jacket. She also plays around with her sedated patients.

Last but not least, there's Kurt (Jason Sudeikis). Kurt loves his job. He works at a chemical company for Jack (Donald Sutherland). Jack is a very caring man and he adores Kurt. Kurt appears to be next in line to become CEO of Pellitt Industries. However, Jack's son Bobby (Colin Farrell) is a complete tool who does coke in the bathroom and comes to work drunk. He always has stains on his clothes and has a terrible comb-over. He also brings prostitutes into the office on a daily basis. When Jack suddenly has a heart-attack, Bobby is put in charge. His first objective is to fire the fat people and the handicapped.

Nick, Dale and Kurt all have horrible bosses that they reminisce about. They often hit the local bars for drinks and laughs. Nick is happily single, Dale is engaged of course and Kurt is a ladies man of sorts. Kurt will often pick up chicks and ditch the boys without hesitation. One night over drinks Kurt openly jokes about killing his boss. They laugh about it, but nobody takes the conversation seriously. However, the next day Julia is worse than normal. She shows pictures of her raping Dale while he was under the knife a couple months ago. Unless Dale will have sex with her, she will show the pictures to his fiance. Dale is officially fed up. He gathers the boys together and lets them know that he's in. He wants to kill his boss. They suggest he get another job, but he's a registered sex offender so that will be difficult. Dale became a sex offender because he urinated in a playground, at night, with no kids around. He was drunk, and the bar was only one block away. Now that's funny.

After Dave promotes himself to the job Nick was in line for, Nick is also in. And Kurt doesn't need anymore motivation, he was in from the beginning. The three of them must now hire a hit man, because they can't conceivably kill anyone themselves. So, Dale finds a guy (Ioan Gruffudd) online and they meet him at cheap, crusty motel. This guy does "wet work" professionally, but he does a different kind of wet work. He doesn't kill people, but actually pisses on people. This is another absolutely hilarious scene.

Take two. The boys now drive around the city trying to find the nastiest bar in town. They come across a dangerous and unpleasant bar that's appears to be filled with thugs, pimps, murderers and whores. So, Kurt walks up to the owner and kindly asks if he knows anyone who kills people for money. Now that's subtle. Fantastic scene. The owner obviously kicks them out, but a man overhears their conversation and follows them outside. This guys name just happens to be "Motherf*cker" Jones (Jamie Foxx). Jamie Foxx (Jarhead, Ray) is utterly hilarious in every single scene he's in. He offers to do the work for 30 Grand, but he's not great at negotiations so they settle on five.

After the boys rally up five Grand between them, they bring it to Motherf*cker. However, Mr. Jones doesn't actually kill people, he just advises clients. The boys are irate and want their money back, but Motherf*cker is one bad dude and they don't want to die. He suggests they kill each others bosses, so they can't be linked to the murders. Not the greatest advice, but they buy it. So, now they go on reconnaissance missions to their bosses houses. They start with Kurt's boss Bobby. They break and enter into his house and find a crap load of cocaine laying around, as well as some redundant paintings of Bobby as a dungeon master or something. Dale and Nick accidentally get coked-up after they spill some onto the carpet and attempt to clean it up. The first recon mission turned out to be a disaster, but they press on.

The next house they hit is Dave's. They make Dale stay outside to be the lookout. Kurt and Nick don't find a whole lot that's usable, they do however get spooked a few times by his crazy, nimble cat. Meanwhile outside, Dale throws some garbage on the ground as a jogging Dave approaches. Dave loses his sh*t, screams at Dale and tells him to get out of his neighborhood. However, the wrapper that Dave was holding was from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and he's allergic to peanuts. He begins to have an allergy attack. Instead of letting him die on the pavement (they are in fact trying to kill their bosses), he saves him by stabbing him with Dave's special allergy pen. Nick and Kurt are furious with Dale for saving Dave, but Dale claims he didn't know who he was.

There's so much more I could tell you, but I don't want to give anything more away. I will say that they get themselves into a serious situation towards to end of the film, and must work their way out of it. The final act comes off a little inadequate and soft, but the laughs don't stop. The performances from the entire cast are very good, especially from Sudeikis. I wasn't expecting much from Sudeikis, but he looks to be a rising star after his fantastic performance. Spacey (American Beauty, The Men Who Stare at Goats) is quite effective and has two or three hilarious scenes that had me in stitches. You've never seen Aniston (The Break-Up, Just Go with It) like this before, and probably never will again. Colin Farrell (Phone Booth, In Bruges) doesn't have a whole lot of air time, but he's never been funnier.

Jason Bateman (Extract, The Switch) plays his role to perfection. He's so clever and understated in each and every film. I find his humor delightful. Charlie Day has been funnier on "It's Always Sunny" but he has a bunch of great scenes, including the final one (which he owns). Ioan Gruffudd's (Fantastic Four, Sanctum) small scene is tremendously funny. He can be quite good at times (other than in that horrible Sanctum flick). The stunning Julie Bowen ("Modern Family") appears in a few scenes, as Dave's wife. John Francis Daley ("Freaks and Geeks") has a small role and he also co-wrote the script, how about that. You'll definitely recognize him from his starring role in the groundbreaking TV series "Freaks and Geeks." P.J. Byrne (Dinner for Schmucks, Be Kind Rewind) has one very funny bar scene. I won't mention the nature of the scene because it's very graphic; and also quite funny.

This film is often hit-and-miss, but it's definitely worth your while. I've never seen anything quite like this film, and that's assuredly a good thing. The cast is great, the script is solid and the jokes don't stop. If you're a fan of comedies, you'll certainly enjoy this film. While Bridesmaids was definitely funnier, this film comes in a close second for funniest film of the year.
B