9 2 5 2

Rating: 9/10 (2 September 2019)

Horrible First Review...HORRIBLE BOSSES (Revisited for Labor Day 2019.) I guess I wasn't high enough back on the day after release: 7/6/11. Well, technically, I'm not high now, but I thoroughly enjoyed this comedy 10x more than before.
Technically? Literally.
Anyways, it's probably because I now watched the uncut version or because I appreciated the humor after spending another 8 more years in an office setting. I had a freaking ball. Laughing out loud so many times, I had to keep rewinding it. Couldn't do that in theatres in 2011.
Funny thing. My own boss asked me what I was planning this weekend. I told the truth: I wanted to re-watch for the 2nd time: Horrible Bosses both for Labor Day 2019 and to finally see the sequel for the first time. Then I spent the next couple of minutes explaining *I* didn't have a horrible boss to my boss. It...I...was a mess.
At least I don't wanna kill her. Or have been raked over for a promotion from her, or manipulated by her skeevy son - IF she has one! or even sexually harassed by her.
All the while during this revisit almost a decade later, I kept thinking: The Hangover, another one of my favorite comedies. This would be the best double-feature with that film. That is, if Horrible Bosses 2 isn't that great coming up next.
*** Final thoughts: Here's my original review from 7/9/11:
9 2 5 2
There's a Red-Band trailer for Horrible Bosses. Heed my warning: do NOT watch that prior to seeing this movie. And though the original "green" preview gives away just enough to get you into a seat, the Red-Band, which, by the way, is thee most rated R trailer I've ever seen, gives away at least 80% of the "surprises."
Sorry, had to get that out first. And although a LOT of Horrible Bosses is predictable, it's still more fun to see the cameos and plot twists firsthand during the feature.
What I'd like to also get out of the way was the "horrible" missed opportunity they had here...to show realistically horrible bosses. Sure, these might mirror some supervisors, but they were so chock-full of clichés, that it took a lot away from what I actually wanted to relate to prior to going to see this. Also, a lot here from these three male leads, Jason Bateman as Nick, Charlie Day as Dale and Jason Sudeikis as Kurt, has already been done in Nine to Five, albeit from female leads.
The comparisons are obvious between the movies, down to a comedy about employees fantasying about killing their boss, while drinking alcohol and using drugs...even with rat poison. And though I laughed hard in spots here, in Horrible Bosses, I could more easily relate to Dabney Coleman's evil boss than any of the three here. Also, Nine to Five was a whole lot funnier and still holds up well today.
I digress; Horrible Bosses was still a lot of fun, thanks to all three leads, and especially Kevin Spacey - the biggest arsehole of the film. I believe, despite my review here, this movie can and probably will grow on me with multiple viewings, of which I'm not opposed to.
So, what we have here is hard-working, but shut-out Nick vs. his boss, the greedy, selfish, profane and jealous Dave (Spacey.) The innocent, Zach Galifianakis-stand-in Dale vs. his sexually active and abusive superior, Julia (Jennifer Aniston.) And finally, Happy-To-Clock-In Kurt vs. his friend/former boss's son, the stereotypical male-doofus new boss: Bobby (Colin Farrell.)
Again, like Nine to Five, Nick, Dale and Kurt plot the deaths of their nemesis's over alcohol and sometimes drugs. But, from the planning stages to the, uh, execution?, it's hilarious, despite a somewhat silly, cop-out and easy conclusion.
They tell me that this is VERY HARD R, and yeah, it's extremely raunchy at times, but I've seen worse. It's not for kids, but not just for that reason - a lot of this has to go over their heads, though the teen boys might want to "almost" see Jennifer Anniston's breasts.
Definitely a recommend.