“Horrible Bosses” has an interesting premise. It’s about three men, all with three variously demented and wicked bosses, who decide one night to murder them each. Do they dare live out the American Dream? But within the good intentions and sharp casting (Colin Farrell with a comb over is hysterical, nevertheless) lies a fairly unpleasant movie that tries to be about as outrageous as your humdrum Farrelly Brothers film and fails to even remotely funny or laugh inducing. Three men with three different bosses decide enough is enough begin planning, with the help of a hit man, their untimely demises.
The dark comedy is something that’s tough to master, because if it’s too dark it can be a bile and uncomfortable experience, and “Horrible Bosses” just that. It’s a vile comedy that is void on giggles and tries to get by on its strong performances, all of which add a flair to the yawns that ensue once the plot goes in to motion. Colin Farrell and Jennifer Aniston go out of her comfort zones as a horny dentist intent on seducing Charlie Day (Aniston is a real scene stealer here) and the son of a famous CEO, which is a step up, but haven’t we seen most our stars in these roles before? Didn’t we see Kevin Spacey as the cocky boss from hell in “Swimming with Sharks”?
Haven’t we seen Charlie Day play the outrageous spaz in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”? And doesn’t Jason Bateman play the well meaning dead panning every man in just about everything he’s in? “Horrible Bosses” is mildly clever, which elevates it above the normal Hollywood dreck as a naughty remake of “Strangers on a Train,” but where it tries to convince us that it’s stepping outside its boundaries as a genre piece, it plays it awfully safe with its entire cast, all of whom can play these roles in their sleep. And they do. Particularly Jason Bateman who looks bored for most of the time he shares the screen with Sudeikis and Day. Like most dark comedies, “Horrible Bosses” is too dark to find funny, and too vile to find an entertaining time waster, and for that it’s yet another comedy dud of 2011.