Toto’s Movie Review: ‘Horrible Bosses’

The key to success in the business world is eating a whole lot of … guff, says one of the main characters in “Horrible Bosses.”

When that fails, well, anything goes according to this R-rated romp.

“Horrible Bosses,” the ultimate recession comedy, shows what happens when you push a mild-mannered employee too far. It’s a better example of how a malnourished script can still zing with a terrific cast – and one very out of character “Friend.”

Longtime buds Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) have had all they can stand from their respective bosses.

Nick’s superior (Kevin Spacey) forces him to chug whiskey so he can call him an alcoholic during their office meetings. Kurt’s boss (Colin Farrell, rocking a combover) snorts coke and wants to fire people for being fat. Compared to those two monsters Dale’s boss Julie (Jennifer Aniston) doesn’t sound so bad. All she does is sexually harasses him for eight hours of the day.

During one drunken night the buds wonder what it would take to remove their bosses from their lives – permanently.

“It’s not murder if it’s justified,” they argue. And, to be fair, Gandhi might take a swing at these cretins. Before you can say wacky comedy premise, the trio agree to rub out their bosses.

But how?

They hire a “murder consultant” played by a brilliantly daft Jamie Foxx to set their scheme in motion. But our heroes still don’t know the first thing about the fine art of assassination.

“Horrible Bosses” starts strong but quickly fumbles any chance at comedy gold. The bosses in question are so cruel, so vile that it defies belief. Sure, some of their meanness is comical, like when Farrell’s character orders Kurt to fire a handicapped employee because the man creeps him out. The story maxes out our logic circuits early, losing that precious “Office Space” outrage that taps into real world fears of the modern workplace.

Had “Horrible Bosses” drawn inspiration from flesh and blood characters the comic situations really would have flowered.

That doesn’t slow down Bateman and Sudeikis, two comic actors riffing from their own personal strengths. Day, a relative screen newbie from TV’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” has a gravelly voice that sounds like he’s about three seconds away from a total lung collapse. Suffice to say he’s an acquired taste.

For every joke in “Bosses” that fizzles, and they are legion, there’s another that shreds the bullseye. It’s funny just to watch Aniston, playing so far against type she might as well use a different stage name, torment Dale to distraction.

The not so heroic trio share a sharp comic energy, similar to the vibe exuded by the “Hangover” stars. Each actor brings a different comic rhythm to the film, from Bateman’s arid-dry line readings to Day’s scratchy yelp. But their characters never come into focus. Charlie is the dumb one until he’s not. And Kurt is the rock of the group until he lets his hormones rule the day.

“Horrible Bosses” wraps with yet another blooper reels, but one that hints at what the film could have accomplished. The bits are chock full of comic anarchy, while the movie itself feels a mite too pleased with its calculated irreverence.

(Photo: Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day and Jason Bateman play pals who plot to improve their work environment by any means necessary in “Horrible Bosses.” photo courtesy of Warner Bros. )