POPrepublic.tv

Horrible Bosses had its Australian premiere in Melbourne this weekend, with, in a real treat, all three lead actors in attendance. Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day, walked the red carpet and introduced the movie, which is about three friends who are so thoroughly sick of their awful bosses, they plan to kill them. The three stars were admittedly a little jetlagged but they bantered with each other and revved up the audience, who had been a little restless and had started blowing up, and throwing, their complimentary Horrible Bosses beach balls! Not quite sure how those freebies related to the movie but the free toothbrush in each audience member’s goodie bag was a nice reference to the relationship between Day’s character and his dentist boss, played by Jennifer Aniston (Friends, Marley and Me).

Anyway, enough about the glamorous life of a reviewer, on with the movie!

Horrible Bosses is based on a premise that almost everyone can relate to. Unless you are very lucky, it’s likely you have worked under somebody you hated. Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman – Arrested Development, Couples Retreat) has been working away, doggedly, for eight years under his sadistic boss Harken (Kevin Spacey). Meanwhile, the aforementioned dentist, Aniston is constantly sexually harassing Nick’s friend, Dale (Charlie Day – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Only Kurt (Jason Sudeikis – SNL, Hall Pass) seems to have a boss he loves (Donald Sutherland), until tragedy means he is soon under the employ of cokehead and waster, Bobby (a delightfully ridiculous Colin Farrell).

With each man cursed with bosses who are, respectively, a psycho, a man-eater and a total tool, something has to be done. This is where the ‘joins’ of the film become a little too obvious. For various, unconvincing reasons, quitting these jobs to escape the horrible bosses, is not an option. Over a few too many drinks, the men cook up a scheme to hire a hitman to rid them of their problems. Ex-con, Jones (Jamie Foxx) offers the trio some dubious advice and they kick their plan into action.

It’s easy enough to ignore the patchy tone of Horrible Bosses and enjoy the film for the hilarious farce that it is. Bateman and Day play the straight man and the fool, wonderfully, and it was only Sudeikis who looked a little out of step as the flirty Kurt. It just felt like he was missing the presence and the charm required to really nail the character. But, overall, the three leads have great chemistry and timing together and some of the scenes, their clueless attempts at reconnaissance and buying murder weapons, especially, are gut-achingly funny.

The film also investigates, albeit indirectly, what happens when three heterosexual, middle-class white men, who have the advantages traditionally bestowed on them by western society, are subjugated by their bosses. Dale suffers, quite literally, at the hands of his grasping boss. Nick is ‘masculine’ and uncomplaining in the face of abuse. Kurt deals with his issues through sex, which just doesn’t cut it. I’m certainly not saying that the film is introspective, but I was pleasantly surprised at some of the moments that exposed the characters’ struggles and naiveté.

Horrible Bosses is also enjoyable because it puts enough distance between itself and the real-life pain of suffering under ghastly employers. Spacey, Aniston and Farrell border on caricature, so you can laugh without getting that hollow feeling in your chest, like you might do watching the eerily realistic The Office. A dose of Horrible Bosses would make a great cure for Monday-itis!