Film Review: Horrible Bosses

Nick (Bateman) has been stuck in the same middle-management position for eight-years. During this time he has suffered the supercilious toying at the hands of his micromanaging asshole boss, Dave Harken (Spacey). Friend Dale (Day) is engaged and works as a dental hygienist. But this matters not to his nymphomaniac boss Julia (Anniston) who sexually harasses him everyday. Other friend Kurt (Sudeikis) however enjoys his job and has a good relationship with his boss (Sutherland). That is until he unexpectedly dies and his coke-snorting, douchebag son (Farrell) takes charge and begins using the company as his own personal cash point. Deciding enough is enough, the tormented trio of twits hatch upon a plan to murder their Horrible Bosses.

As comedies about dippy suburban white boys who get themselves into awkward situations and have an aneurysm whenever they're around black people go, Horrible Bosses isn't bad. The best things about it is the chemistry between the three under trodden main characters. And to be honest it needed to be good, because even by the 'who cares, it's Hollywood just being crazy again' standard, Horrible Bosses is a little bit ridiculous. Certainly it's funny, but the premise of revenge against three nasty bosses had much more potential to be even funnier and is something never really capitalised upon. You'll mildly chuckle throughout, but this is seldom ingeniously hilarious. This is because there seems to be an energy missing here, in need of a turbo button to really propel this forward. Horrible Bosses lack of such a booster is where it falls short.

The main source of this problem is the amount of characters involved making it difficult for the film to focus. As such there is a discernible lack of character development, particularly regarding the otherwise interesting evil bosses. Yes, it is clear they are assholes, but you just want to see more of them in order to truly convince you how much they deserve their comeuppance. Most of all you just which they had more screen time for the lols as they are genuinely good characters. Because Horrible Bosses never really sticks too closely to any one of them it unfortunately means that none of them will leave a lasting impression. However, this is more the script's fault than it is the actors which wastes an otherwise brilliant ensemble.

And it is an excellent cast. Bateman is the anchor and voice of sanity, delivering an understated deadpan performance which effuses a basic likability which is never compromised by overplaying his role. Unlikely ladykiller Sudeikis is a lot of fun as the enthusiastic 'doer' of the trio, however Day is the only cast member which lets the film down as his squeaky little voice begins to grate very quickly. And yet their chemistry bubbles where the funniest thing about this group of super friends is what they have in common: how pathetic all three of them are. Clearly never having hurt a fly in their life, murdering someone proves to be more difficult than they first thought. As such they hire the services of a 'professional', the wonderfully named 'Motherfucker Jones' hilariously played by Jamie Foxx. Like them, he's also an idiot, but still a lot smarter than our hapless heroes.

The biggest draw however are their three bosses. Spacey is the main focus and is excellent throughout as you'd expect as a total psychotic dick. What's disappointing however is how the script has him descend into an abyss of unconvincing evil absurdity. While Spacey never struggles with the material, it is the material which proves to be one of the film's underpinnings with its unbelievable farce. Jennifer Anniston has never looked hotter, and if you were a bloke ever fantasising to be sexually harassed at work she would be your ultimate fantasy. She's saccharine and actually seems to be enjoying the role. It's also more entertaining than her usual dull girl-next-door romcom antics. Colin Farrell's substance abusing, asian hooker loving sleaze bag glimmers in the few scenes he's in, but unfortunately like Anniston he barely registers in the film. It is this which is the most disappointing part about Horrible Bosses. Yes, they're horrible, but we never really learn anything about them due to the lack of their own story arcs.

If I were to be really pretentiously profound I could quite happily argue that Horrible Bosses' rests on the basic appeal to the under trodden masses' imagination of overthrowing their slave masters. Films like this, one might contend, exist to oil the capitalist engine and keep it running, to make sure the cogs in the machine continue to operate smoothly. It offers brief respite and escapism before you're thrown back into reality on Monday morning for long hours and underpaid drudgery. Of course the proletariat will never rise up in reality because they have far more to lose than their chains, but you've got to admire its balls; the system is really rather clever. However that's debate to do with social conditioning and propaganda for another time.

-Goes back to reading his little red book-

But this is a lightweight comedy, not a doctoral thesis. The script is the film's weak point, never justifying anything which compromises something that could have been a memorable farce, however there are plenty of laughs with a couple of moments of genuine hilarity. It's also a lot better than some of its counterparts (I'm looking at you, Due Date and Hall Pass). This is undeniably undemanding fun, but it's hardly memorable. Unfortunately, Horrible Bosses just seems stuck somewhere in middle-management hoping for a promotion.

Film Review: Paul

For some inexplicable reason, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are deemed by many as some of the funniest muthafuckers this country has produced in the last ten years. This is in large part based on the successes of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. This then prompted many to revisit one of Pegg's first forays into comedy, the cult sitcom, Spaced. Bandwagon jumpers started calling the series "ahead of its time", as if to somehow justify its omittance from the comedy hall of fame. Let's be frank though, Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are boring, drab and meandering works of beige. The jokes aren't particularly sharp or laugh out loud, hitting one with a muted, dull thud. On that note then, one, or rather I, might expect Paul to be much of the same tedious shit.

Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) are two British geeks living the dream. On holiday in America for the annual Comic-Con event, the two have plans to take a road trip to see where the whole alien mythology began - Area 51, Nevada. While driving one night, the duo make first contact with a crass, four-foot alien named Paul (Rogen). Discovering Paul is on the run from the authorities, Graeme and Clive agree to help the little fella get home, all the while pursued by bumbling government agents.

Paul marks the first time that Pegg and Frost have actually written a script together, and it shines through that the two real-life best buds had a lot of fun with it. Essentially, this is a road-movie with a sci-fi twist. Pegg's previous efforts in Shaun and Fuzz were co-written with Edgar Wright, who also directed both, and it is immediately evident that there is a marked difference in tone between those and Paul. And it's for the better. Paul is immediately more engaging, almost having an airier, lighter feel about it. Yes, critics might say this is more commercialized, but it is also more charming and delectable than its predecessors.

As you would expect, the homages to geekdom come thick and fast, with references to Aliens, Star Wars and just about any other sci-fi franchise you can think of. There's even a cameo from Sigourney Weaver. Unfortunately, the film misses a trick by failing to humiliate the entire lore and conventions surrounding such nerdy pursuits. It is disappointing that Pegg and Frost shied away from this, probably out of fear that they would offend their core audience. As such, the film descends into shock-value comedy, running with one particularly tiresome gag which alludes to Graeme and Clive being gay. But Paul has a saving Grace, and that is, well, Paul - a potty-mouthed, pot-smoking little grey alien donning a pair of cargos. Paul injects an energy otherwise lacking, acting as a catalyst which allows all the other characters to develop and play off. Indeed, it was this energy which was so sorely missing in both Shaun and Fuzz.

I'm sure, out there, some pompous, self-important, pseudo-intellectual who "adores" the "genius" of Pegg's earlier works will lambast Paul for being "too crude" and "shallow". But nothing could be further from the truth. Paul is accessible, emanating a genuine radiance of warmth not present in Shaun or Fuzz. Yes, it's a nerdy tribute to geeks the world over, but it's also funny and full of heart. Definitely Pegg and Frost's finest work to date.