Horrible Bosses

It's been awhile since I've seen a movie (20 days to be exact) and I wanted to see one before seeing Harry Potter on Thursday night. So I went to see Horrible Bosses. It turned out to be a pretty standard summer comedy. While it had a great cast, script, and acting, a few things just didn't really work for me.

The movie begins with an explanation of each of the three main characters bosses and why they hate them. The explicit use of titles on the screen for what Nick, Dale, and Kurt (played by Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis respectively) think of their bosses. The entertainment ensues from there. Jason Bateman seems to be channeling his old character Michael Bluth from Arrested Development. In this movie I think it worked great! Especially opposite Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, previously seen together  in Going The Distance, who share the same chemistry in Bosses. Each of the three men has his own quirks and they come through at different points in the story. The comedic timing from these three was just outstanding and the delivery of their lines was great as well!

The villains matched the performances of the protagonists perfectly. Kevin Spacey, one of the great actors of the time, is stupendous as Nick's boss. He is wonderfully evil and despicable. Colin Farrell is hilarious as a coke-head boss and of course Jennifer Aniston is as stunning as ever and she gives a great performance opposite Charlie Day's Dale. Finally one of my favorite characters of the film was Motherf**ker Jones played by Jamie Foxx. The many different interactions amongst these seven characters is what made the movie funny to me, though I think this has to do more with the script than just the acting.

The script could have sold itself in my opinion. Some of the lines are hilarious and had me in stitches. However, while most of the script was funny and entertaining, a few times it dragged a joke out too long. I think it only happened three times to be exact and two of the times were the same joke being dragged out. Past that though, many new lines were said that will probably be quoted for the next few months and possibly years.

One of the best things about Horrible Bosses was the use of fantasy and imagination throughout. Mainly because everyone has thoughts of killing someone they despise at least once in their life. The movie takes that idea and runs with it. Each man devising a different way to kill each other's boss. And the collisions between story lines and characters produces some great comedy. The story is good, but sometimes dragged on a little too long to me. Either way, if you like Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, or Jason Sudeikis, you will enjoy Horrible Bosses.

7/10