Horrible Bosses

Ever had a job you really hate? Ever thought that your life would be so much easier if your boss wasn’t in it? Ever spent your office hours dreaming up ways of killing him? (No comment - Ed)

If you answered ‘yes’ to the above questions, then you will be able to sympathise with the heroes of Seth Gordon’s new comedy Horrible Bosses. Nick (Jason Bateman) has been jumping through hoops for a promotion that, it transpires, his twisted boss Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) never had any intention of awarding him; dental assistant Dale (Charlie Day) is being sexually harassed by his nymphomaniac supervisor Julie (Jennifer Aniston), who is determined to bed him before his wedding, and Kurt’s (Jason Sudeikis) kindly old boss has just died, leaving the company in the less-than-capable hands of his idiotic, coke-head son Bobby (Colin Farrell). And so, a discussion over drinks becomes a full-blown plot to rid themselves of their employers...permanently. Taking the dubious advice of ‘murder consultant’ Dean “Motherfucker” Jones (a hilarious Jamie Foxx – the story behind his disturbing nickname is a highlight), they decide to avoid suspicion by killing each other’s bosses, but – inevitably - all does not go smoothly.

Though the ‘swapping murders’ plot hook is straight out of Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, Horrible Bosses is pure comedy – and it is very, very funny. Out of the three stars, Day - who will be familiar to anyone who has seen the brilliant It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - walks away with the most laughs (watch out in particular for his coked-up rendition of the Ting Ting’s ‘That’s Not My Name’), but Bateman and Sudeikis each have their moments (Sudeikis in particular gets a few one-liners which are sure to enter popular vocabulary). The ‘Horrible Bosses’ all have a great time playing against type: Spacey basically reprises his Swimming With Sharks character with added psychosis, while Aniston makes a brilliantly deranged sexual predator, even attempting to have sex with Dale on the body of his unconscious fiancée (“Let’s use her like a bed!”). But it is Colin Farrell – nearly unrecognisable with a greasy comb-over and beer belly – who steals the film, displaying natural comic timing and a willingness to make himself as repulsive and unlikeable as possible (“I want you to fire the fat people. They’re lazy and they’re slow and they make me sad to look at. You can start with Large Marge...”)

If you liked The Hangover and Bridesmaids then this is the film for you: it is witty, fast and funny, with likeable characters and dialogue you’ll be quoting as soon as you leave the cinema. And it may just convince you to finally hand in your two weeks’ notice...

Catriona Davidson