The thing about murder comedies is you have to believe, even a little bit, that the murder might be committed. From “The Ladykillers” to “Throw Momma From the Train,” movies on this specialized topic have needed just a pinch of credibility in their homicidal concepts.
In “Horrible Bosses,” t
hat problem is never licked. The movie’s funny at times, and has some good actors getting loose, but I never bought for a second that these characters would actually follow through with their plans.
Their plans involve killing their gross bosses.
Three pals — played by Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and “Saturday Night Live” guy Jason Sudeikis — are abused by their various superiors. They resolve to swap murders and knock off each other’s nemesis.
The actors who play the bosses should have a field day in a movie like this, and they do. Jennifer Aniston clearly relishes the opportunity to play a potty-mouthed dentist whose sexual harassment of her assistant (that’s Charlie Day) is relentless.
Kevin Spacey brings his lethal skills as Bateman’s sabotaging corporate chief, and an unrecognizable Colin Farrell dials up the skeevy as Sudeikis’ coke-snorting overlord.
While those three are grandstanding, the main actors actually work up some quieter (and funnier) camaraderie amongst them, although Charlie Day, whose work on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” has made him a breakout cult star, does wind himself up into some high-pitched tantrums.
Director Seth Gordon, who directed the wonderful “King of Kong” and the not-wonderful “Four Christmases,” frames the three actors in wide shots so we can see them play off each other. Among other things, this convinces you that Jason Bateman has the slyest, best deadpan delivery in the business these days.
In fact, while watching the film I was thinking that Bateman might be the best deadpan comic since a particular TV comedian of the 1960s and ’70s, at which point said comedian turned up for a cameo in a final scene. I guess that makes it official.
The plot of “Horrible Bosses” is cleverly structured, and there is room for Jamie Foxx to turn up in three or four scenes as a murder adviser.
It’s all bawdy and agreeable, and nobody’s in very much danger, it seems (thus my opening complaint).
But “Horrible Bosses” is never as uproarious as it ought to be, given the talent involved. A premise like this needs a little true wildness to work, and raunchy is not the same as wild.
“Horrible Bosses”
A murder comedy, in which three buddies (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis) plan to kill each other’s awful bosses. The broad and potty-mouthed humor scores a few hits, and the film’s got a clever structure, but the fact that we never believe these guys will actually kill someone takes the oomph out of the premise. The boss roles go to Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell, all grandstanding.
Rated: R for language, subject matter.
Showing: Alderwood mall, Cinebarre, Everett Mall, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Stanwood, Meridian, Metro, Oak Tree, Woodinville, Cascade Mall.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
