A comedy that's far from horrible

Rating: 7/10 (5 December 2014)

Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell play three horrible bosses. Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis play their respective mistreated employees. One night over drinks these employees get the bright idea to kill their bosses. Well, it seemed like a bright idea anyway. Their plans inevitably go awry, these are not guys well-equipped to plot murders. The laughs come fast and furious as their plot unravels. Who knew attempted murder could be so hilarious?
The movie sets up a reasonably interesting story and then the excellent cast takes that story and runs with it. It is the performances that really make Horrible Bosses work. Each of the six key figures fits into their role wonderfully. Spacey is a treat in playing a sadistic executive at a financial firm. Aniston is both funny and sexy in playing a man-eating dentist. And Farrell effortlessly disappears into the body of a clueless, cocaine-binging schlub. But while the bosses are great it's their murderous employees who really carry the movie, we spend much more time with them. Bateman, as he does so often, largely plays the straight man which suits him perfectly as he reacts to all the chaos swirling around him. Sudeikis is terrifically witty, delivering deadpan humor in a way that always brings a smile to your face. And Day may be the best of all. Perhaps the least known of all the film's stars he threatens to steal the whole show. There's something endearingly offbeat about his character and Day captures that so well. The chemistry between Day, Sudeikis and Bateman is terrific. You really pull for these guys, and laugh with them, even as they plot a triple homicide. The fact they bumble things all the way through obviously helps with the laughs.
While not a perfect comedy Horrible Bosses ultimately is a very satisfying one. Perhaps we could have spent a little more time with the bosses, there was probably some comedic potential there left untapped. Farrell in particular gets short shrift, he is definitely underused. And if you have Kevin Spacey playing a deranged psychopath there's so much more you can do with him than this movie does. But all in all the movie works. What the performers are given to do they all do very well. Day may be the standout, and Aniston memorably blows her good girl image to smithereens in hilarious fashion, but all six of the film's stars deserve a lot of credit. It's a winning ensemble enhanced by one supporting character, the "murder consultant" our bumbling idiots hire. That character adds a few more laughs to the movie's impressive comic mix. This is a comedy with great energy, great laughs, great characters and just enough story to keep the whole thing moving forward. The bosses may be horrible but the movie about them is pretty great.