Full of Memorable Quotes: "That Isn't From A Movie...It is now!"

Rating: Null/10 (11 September 2011)

Horrible Bosses first and foremost is funny. There certainly is a low- key comedic brilliance in the script, a solid premise creatively at the core from which to hang black humor. Simply put, a shared emotion almost anyone can relate to is an irritating boss wielding an inordinate amount of power seemingly for no other reason other than to be a jerk. The commonality makes it easy to get on board with such a story if done well. Horrible Bosses is done so well that it sells itself in spite of the liberal use of very low-brow humor. When there are copious amounts of foul language and sophomoric humor there simply has to be an element of brilliance to keep things from being weighted down by these elements, thankfully innumerable excellent nuances abound.
The performances of the three principle actors and their related bosses mesh perfectly with the script and the result is a movie that is very entertaining in spite of the ridiculous situations depicted. Jason Bateman as Nick Hendricks plays the role he naturally inhabits which is the young exasperated professional who in his deadpan comments and frustrated expressions speaks to everyone. Topping that is the part of his friend played by Jason Sudeikis. Sudeikis gets his Saturday Night Live breakout role here with his depiction of the character Kurt Buckman. Sudeikis is the glue holding the three central characters, as well as the movie, together. His character, Kurt Buckman, is a simple hedonist quite detached from reality, he is wickedly funny delivering his constant smirks and golden nugget comments. And by-the-way, those comments become instant quotes which cult fans will be repeating ad infinitum. Finally, the over-the-top performance given by Charlie Day is so outrageously spot-on hilarious he almost steals the movie. Day's character, Dale Arbus, is the most unlikely of the three to be harassed by a boss and the fact that his harassment is of the sexual variety ,which his other two friends would welcome, is a large part of what makes this story gel. Day uses such an acute and hyper expressive delivery; Horrible Bosses is worth watching twice for his performance alone. Just listening to Charlie Day deliver his lines with his high register high "rpm" screech slays this viewer. These three actors have a synergy when coupled with this script hit it out of the park for a grand slam homer.
There is an excellent supporting cast which in order of magnitude includes Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Colin Ferrell, and Donald Sutherland. The surprise here is the perfect performance, against type no less, by Jennifer Aniston. She truly shines and raises the performance of Charlie Day as they play off one another. Kevin Spacey plays a role he's done before except with a cold-hearted hilarious twist making his screen time irreplaceable. Colin Ferrell steps totally outside of his norm once more to create a creature like character that will double the viewer over before he spits out the few corrosive lines he delivers. Donald Sutherland is pretty much an icon who just adds a nice counterpoint to his evil son played by Farrell. Sutherland's role is small, but it is an absolute stroke of genius! And finally, speaking of utterly amazing small rolesBob Newhardt's cameo at the end is the pièce de résistance for a perfect ending! This movie is a slice of comedic gold which in spite of the ample use of low humor rises to a greater sum total effectA perfect comedy which speaks to both the mainstream and cult markets. Don't miss it.