Horrible Bosses
Thus far, 2011 has been an absolute clusterfuck for the movie industry. It seems that increasingly each year since roughly 2005, the state of films somehow delves to an even deeper level of atrocity. It bothers me that we have arrived at this point, almost instantaneously, yet nobody has the wherewithal to do anything about it. We keep getting offered such horrendous flicks that both insult the auidenece’s intelligence while at the same time numbing us even further to the point where accepting such works have become the norm.
It is that very same set of circumstances that have now skewed the scale in which we used to weigh a movie’s merits. That is a major reason that I was appreciably disappointed when I ventured out to see Horrible Bosses. For me, it starts with director Seth Gordon who besides a few episodes network comedies, has a rather paltry resume in the film arena. Four Christmases? That is his biggest vehicle thus far? That movie flopped faster than Precious at an Olympic Diving Event. (To be fair, his documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters was exceedingly highly acclaimed.)
Gordon had at his availability a murderer’s row of actors comprising his cast, yet it felt as though he wasn’t able to get their best in this film. Maybe it was the noticeably weak screenplay and dumbed-down plot. I am not completely sure, but as I watched the closing credits scroll down the screen, I couldn’t help but feel a little cheated. This was supposed to be on the level of Bridesmaids, which I loved, but did not come nearly that close.
The chemistry between the 3 male leads (Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, and Jason Bateman) felt contrived and forced at time. Day stole the spotlight by basically portraying a similar, albeit smarter, version of his character on the hysterical It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. But would anyone in his position honestly feel threatened if a slutted up Jennifer Aniston was sexually harassing them? That is just plain dumb.
The Jasons worked here and there at best, which is not something I was expecting from either; most notably Bateman who is usually stellar. And in regards to the “Bosses”, Aniston is in the midst of her sexual awaking in the Hollywood eye, so it was a nice bonus to see her play such a role. Colin Farrell, in my mind, was the most under-utilized character in the movie. Boy, can he play a sleazy douchebag or what? Of course, having Kevin Spacey involved was what initially got my movie hard-on for this film. He is among the best actors in the world and his depiction of a psychotic boss was superb. But that same praise got to be too over the top by the end of the movie and morphed into a lame premise.
Yes there were laughs and funny moments to recount while discussing the movie with a friend. But by no means should this be considered a great piece of comedic work. If this were in years past, some of the raunchiness and lewd behavior may have garnered it more points. But in 2011, when we seem to be totally unshockable most times than not, it simply does not make the grade. Like LeBron James, it was too much hype without fulfilling its potential.
