While it’s probably not the funniest film of the year, Horrible Bosses is a humorous tale about three disgruntled workers plotting to kill their bosses. Best described as 9 to 5 crossed with The Hangover, anyone who’s ever had a job can likely find something to appreciate about Horrible Bosses.
Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day), and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) all find themselves in similar situations: Nick’s Boss Dave (Kevin Spacey) is verbally abusive; Dale is sexually harassed on a daily basis by nymphomaniac dentist Julia (Jennifer Aniston); Kurt’s company has been taken over by the ungrateful son (Colin Farrell) of the founder. After an alcohol assisted meeting with a common criminal (Jamie Foxx), the trio decides their bosses must be eliminated.
Director Seth Gordon (Four Christmases) keeps things moving as the guys run into one problem after another. A scene in which two of the guys try and dispose of some spilled cocaine is played perfectly, and each of the bosses is contemptible enough to make the audience wish the worst on them. Though the script was written by a trio of scribes—Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein—many of the lines seem improvised. While that works for a number of scenes, as the film goes on things get a bit too chatty and some of the jokes are hit-and miss.
Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis are all very funny. Day, with his high pitched delivery and clueless personality, steals nearly every scene in which he appears. Each of these guys is in over their heads, and their shenanigans are over-the-top laughable. The most surprising performance here is that of Jennifer Aniston, who leaves the safety of the good girl sweetheart that has defined her movie career. As Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S., Aniston uses unfettered profanity and near-toplessness. Hearing her purr about her “pussy” rivals the shock hilarity of Betty White dropping the f-bomb.
Where the movie gets in trouble is in trying to balance the focus between employee and employer. The film is called Horrible Bosses, but there are several stretches where the bosses all but disappear from the story. The script also clearly favors Kevin Spacey’s character when the bosses are involved. While it’s easy to see why, it does lead to some problems in the third act. The weak ending is easy to forgive because of the undeniable humor and crudeness that runs throughout the story. If your in the mood for nearly two hours of laughs, Horrible Bosses fits the bill.
Presented in a theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1, this 1080p transfer has a few minor hiccups but it’s nothing that affects the viewing experience. Crush and aliasing is occasionally noticeable but generally speaking, this digitally shot film looks pretty good. Color quality is well balanced throughout though there are a couple instances of bleed. Details are fine, giving the textures of the guys’ casual wear some nice punch.
The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound mix here isn’t the best it could be—music cues often drown out dialogue, and surrounds rarely utilized—but there’s not much to complain about. Fidelity is strong; surrounds, when exploited, have an inviting presence to them: It’s a basic track, but does a workman-like job.
French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mixes are included, as are English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles.
The Blu-ray contains the following special features:
- Theatrical and Extended Versions: Two versions of the film are available on the 3-disc Totally Inappropriate Edition release of Horrible Bosses, each one on its own Blu-ray disc: the film’s 98-minute theatrical cut and a 106-minute extended cut.
- My Least Favorite Career (HD, 5 minutes): Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day, Julie Bowen, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Aniston and director Seth Gordon reminisce about their own horrible bosses. in Bateman’s case, the “interesting bosses” he’s dealt with since he entered the biz at the age of ten.
- Surviving a Horrible Boss (HD, 7 minutes): Bateman, Sudeikis, Day and Gordon give tips on how to deal with your own horrible boss and discuss workplace misery.
- Being Mean is So Much Fun (HD, 7 minutes): Aniston, Farrell and Kevin Spacey talk about cutting loose, having fun and embracing their deviant sides.
- The Making of the Horrible Bosses Soundtrack (HD, 6 minutes): Gordon and composer Christopher Lennertz bring together musicians from the Beastie Boys, Pearl Jam and the Dave Matthews Band.
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 10 minutes): A decent selection of deleted scenes that includes two alternate openings.
- UltraViolet Digital Copy: Stream your UVDC to your computer, tablet or smartphone, and download it to your computer. UV code expires on October 11, 2013.
- BD-Live Functionality
