The No B.S. Movie Review for Horrible Bosses

Reviews, Theatrical Reviews

Welcome to the No B.S. movie review. For these, I won’t be pandering about things your average movie fan doesn’t care about (the cinematography matters largely if it affects the presentation) or summarizing the plot (my phone alone has four different ways to find previews, and that’s without counting previews in theaters or commercials on television). No, the point of these reviews will be to give you the basics to decide if you really want to see this flick. Yes, that means spoiler-free. Without further ado, the No B.S. Review for …Horrible Bosses.

The director of this movie, Seth Gordon, directed several episodes of seriously funny sit-coms, like Parks and Recreation, Community, and The Office. That last is most notable, as besides feeling like Always Sunny, for the obvious fact that Charlie Day is mostly playing the same role, the comedy here feels like the Office, particularly when Steve Carrell is especially socially awkward and cringe-worthy.

This is getting a lot of Hangover comparisons, but they don’t really fit. Where the hangover is about dealing with the crazy situation of drunkenness the next day, this is more about idiots getting themselves into worse and worse trouble. There isn’t a three-dimensional character in the whole movie, which really should sink it except for some really good situations (it’s a long sit-com in disguise) and…

The horrible bosses themselves are freaking fantastic. Kevin Spacey as a horrible control freak, pure evil overlord, Jennifer Aniston as a sexually harassing monster, and even Colin Farrell as a coked-up loser absolutely make the movie. The first part of the movie is centered on establishing just how horrible these three are and all three absolutely let loose with the roles, having an absolute blast being utterly irredeemable. At this point, the protagonists seem a bit quirky, but are mostly normal guys. As the movie goes on, they become bumbling caricatures, more like Kramer and Michael Scott than any real person. Still, with the bosses so outright nasty, it’s easy to root for even these fools.

There’s a lot of silly gross-out stuff in the movie, which is entirely lowbrow. Don’t expect any kind of deeper message or clever twists. You’ll go see it for vulgar sex jokes and awkward situations. How much you like that is ultimately what will decide if you enjoy this movie.

Okay, so, let’s see if this movie is for you. Do you like the aforementioned sit-coms? Are you okay with the lack of a sympathetic main character? Do you want to see top actors having a really good time with over-the-top roles? Is lowbrow humor okay with you? If you answered yes to those questions, then Horrible Bosses is for you. As far as a rating? 6/10 for an entertainingly silly, if ridiculous comedy.

If you liked or disliked the review and format, feel free to let me know in the comments or with a facebook like. Either way, check back later in the week for a similar overview of the new Harry Potter flick, and expect about one of these per week. If that goes well, we’ll expand to DVDs. You can bookmark right here and check back for regular writing updates, including music, sports, comics, and whatever else strikes my fancy. Upcoming this week: a Soundgarden concert review, some heroclix crap, NBA Western Conference Outlook, and Harry Potter. See you soon.

Glazer is a former senior editor at Pulse Wrestling and editor and reviewer at The Comics Nexus.