Horrible Bosses Directed by: Seth Gordon Starring: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis Rating: R Release Date: July 8, 2011
TRAILER SCORE: 8/10
Thoughts by TSR: I’ve been excited about Horrible Bosses since the casting was first announced, but had no idea of the plot beyond three guys dealing with their ... horrible bosses. Now having seen the trailer and discovered they plan to kill their bosses under the guidance of Jamie Foxx, I’m even more excited to see it.
That’s not to say I found the trailer laugh-out-loud funny throughout. I was mildly amused as opposed to laughing while watching Jason Bateman choke down Kevin Spacey’s eighteen-year-old scotch or during Jennifer Aniston’s sexual harassment against Charlie Day. Still, as a whole I really liked what I saw and was at least smirking the entire time. Being rated R, I imagine a lot of the jokes can’t be included in a green band trailer, so that gives hope that much of the best stuff will be saved for the film.
Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis are great comedic actors, so their involvement is a huge plus, but the casting for the bosses might be even better. The three actors playing the titular bosses look like they are having fun with these awful characters. Aniston (definitely playing against type) and Spacey both look good, but the parts I laughed at the most were those involving Colin Farrell. He’s an actor I’ve liked for years, and here it looks like he’s having an absolute blast as Sudeikis’s boss. I cannot wait to see more of him and his ridiculous comb over once the film is released.
Thanks to the murder plotline, the film could have the opportunity to go to some dark places while remaining uproariously funny. If everything comes together this could very well be one of the funniest films of 2011.