A little too much and not quite enough

Rating: 6/10 (9 April 2012)

Very rarely do I ever give reviews of movies, television programs, or anything in general to be honest, but this one, I just had to.
Aside from the alluring cast members- Jennifer Aniston and Jason Batemen I chose to rent this movie because the title and concept of the movie hit home to me, well would have hit directly home about 2 and half years ago. I too had a horrible boss that was such a diabolical product she actually embodied in a very sly way, those of the characters that were projected. However not to the extreme lengths that Jennifer Ansiton portrayed, or to the psychotic depths of Kevin Spacey's character. My boss F.B was the perfect 40 year old self- righteous cocktail of everything poisonous and corrosive. Yes this is why I watched this movie, I figured that someone brilliant thought of a way to give a voice to all of us who wanted nothing more than to never have to either see, smell, hear, or even feel the presence of our bosses ever again. Bosses that we secretly hope have an allergic reaction to the vaccinations being given out at work. Bosses that make us sick to our stomach at just the thought of another minute working with them that can only be one's biggest test of fortitude, endurance, sanity, and long-suffering. Pretty much what Jason Batemen's character hit on in the movie- that the key to success is putting up with crap. That is what I hoped I was getting when I rented this movie, some sort of relation from a character that could put my story not just into words but into actions, of course in a humorous way. The result couldn't be more further from what I really got.
I have to admit that Jennifer Aniston (ironically enough an idol of my former Boss) certainly stepped out of her comfort zone for this part, but she'd definitely have you believing that what you were watching was more of a scene from her reality show rather than an Actress playing a character, and playing it well.
Jason Batemen, well we've seen him over the last few years make some pretty lasting impressions through his characters from Couple's Retreat to switching lives with Ryan Reynolds in The Change Up, to The Switch with Co-star Jennifer Aniston. Unfortunately though, his Character in Horrible Bosses was horribly boring. I am a fan of Jason Batemen, he has a tonne of potential, it's just unfortunate that the writers did not capitalize on that because although we love him, his character was horribly forgettable.
With a few off-course twists and turns, almost inaudible sputters at the bar table with Jamie Foxx,an over active high pitched border-line annoying character played by Charlie Day, and a far more used than necessary amount of cheap vulgarity, this movie made the passing grade but only by a crack and a nose. There was a very thin line that crossed relation so that the far-fetched story was forgivable, however there was an overwhelming amount of the story that all you could do was shake your head and almost sarcastically say "ok...." while keeping in mind it's JUST a movie, based on a fictional story with fictional characters and it's not meant to be an outward projection of your own battles. Fine and dandy but when you mix too much dialogue, use an over abundance of sexual antics to steal the show, and not enough substance you wind up feeling overly and sickly full yet somehow still unsatisfied. But thanks to Charlie Day's character who accidentally found himself in a cloud of cocaine which ignited some pretty funny responses, as well as accidentally on purpose reviving Jason Batemen's character's boss, and to Jason Sudeikis who found a ingenious way for his boss to almost and as close to literally as possible- kiss his ass- this movie assigns some off the cuff laughs, a few over-due chuckles, meets the minimal deadlines, but disappointingly falls below it's quota.