The purpose of Horrible Bosses is to entertain or make viewers laugh and the film certainly does both through the script's use of irony.
One Good Boss
Ironically, even though the film is titled Horrible Bosses, one of the three main characters, Kurt Buckman, (Jason Sudeikis) actually has a boss he loves. In a cruel twist of fate for Kurt, his boss, Jack Pellit, (Donald Sutherland) dies of a heart attack just minutes into the movie. This is where Kurt's horrible boss enters the scene. Jack's son takes over the family business where Kurt works.
Who is Complaining?
Normally when the term sexual harassment is heard, one thinks of males harassing females. Not so in Horrible Bosses. In what is perhaps the film's greatest irony, a barely recognizable Jennifer Aniston plays dentist Julia Harris who is sexually harassing her male dental hygienist Dale Arbus (Charlie Day). Dr. Harris is an incredibly hot woman. Supermodel hot. She wants Dale to have sex with her. Most males would jump at the chance to be with such a beautiful woman but Dale is loyal to his fiancee. That loyalty alone is almost an irony in these days of casual sex.
Dale complains to his two friends Kurt and Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman) that Dr. Harris wants to sleep with him. They don't see what the problem is. They know she is hot and and tell Dale to just sleep with her already. The fiancee doesn't have to know.
Let Him Die
Nick works for a boss who is unforgiving and humiliating. Nick's boss is named Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey). Once the plot to murder the three bosses is underway, the three abused employees decide to steal Alfred Hitchcock's idea of switching murders like in Hitchcock's movie, Strangers on a Train. This way, they cannot be linked to the murder they commit. They understake this plan without advising each other what their boss looks like.
Since Dale does not know what Nick's boss looks like, when he accidentally stumbles across Dave, he innocently exposes Dave to peanuts. Well, surprise, surprise, Dave suffers from a peanut allergy. At this point, Dale could have let Dave die, but no, Dale plays the hero, finding Dave's epi pen and saving Dave from his allergic reaction to peanuts. Naturally Nick is beside himself when he realizes how close he was to being free from Dave.
Is This Real?
Each of the actors is entirely believable in their role. Jennifer Aniston's sexuality sizzles onscreen. Charlie Day plays innocent and bumbling brilliantly. Kevin Spacey plays a totally believable hateful boss. Spacey has proven his versatility as an actor in so many films such as 21, Men Who Stare at Goats, The Negogiator, and LA Confidential.
Details
- Horrible Bosses
- Starring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, and Charlie Day
- Screenplay by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daly, and Jonathan Goldstein
- Directed by Seth Gordon
- Running time: 98 minutes
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