Horrible Bosses

Directed by: Seth Gordon

Written by: Michael Markowitz, John Frances Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein

"Horrible Bosses" isn't horribly funny. It isn't horrible, but it isn't horribly good either. (Enough with the horrible gag now.)

Three friends (Bateman, Day, Sudeikis) commiserate on their crazy bosses. One boss (Aniston) is sexually aggressive, one boss (Farrell) is a cocaine addict, and one (Spacey) is just plain rotten. With a little help from Jamie Foxx's character, the buddies conspire to kill each others' bosses. Things quickly fall apart, though, and things go awry, leaving the friends running for the lives.

This movie was weak, all around. It felt like everyone - from the director on down - just decided to go through the motions. Even Jason Bateman - usually very funny - never broke from his typical character.

This is unfortunate, considering the material could have been molded into something great. The premise itself was funny in an absurd way, and it just needed to be fleshed out accordingly.

As with most comedies, the plot was a problem. In this case, frankly, there was too much of it. Too much time was spent getting to know the characters and establishing their backgrounds. It takes the story too long to get to the point where they decide to kill their bosses, considering that it's the basis of the action and was revealed in the trailer.

There were a few good points, though. Jennifer Aniston played her role well - which is to say she didn't play the usual Jennifer Aniston role. Although his role wasn't necessarily demanding from a technical aspect, Kevin Spacey really played his nasty, smarmy character well. Jamie Foxx stole the few scenes he was in, though I'm glad that his scenes were limited - he could have easily been overexposed.

"Horrible Bosses" earns a "not very good" review. I can't say that it's awful (unlike "Bad Teacher), but it definitely failed to reach its potential.