Horrible Bosses

Horrible Bosses
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Horrible Bosses is a 2011 black comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein based on a script by Michael Markowitz. The film stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx and follows three friends (Bateman, Day and Sudekis) who decide to murder their respective overbearing, abusive bosses (Spacey, Aniston, and Farrell) who they believe are standing in the way of their happiness. Horrible Bosses premiered in Los Angeles on June 30, 2011 and received a wide release on July 8, 2011.
The film opened to positive critical reception with several critics praising the ensemble cast with each lead being singled out for their performances across reviews. The plot received a more mixed response contrasting reviewers who felt it was dark, funny and explored its premise well with reviewers who felt the jokes failed to be funny and perceived it to be racist, homophobic and misogynistic.

 

Plot 

Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman), Dale Arbus (Charlie Day), and Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) are friends who despise their bosses. Nick works at a financial firm for Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey), who abuses Nick constantly. Nick puts up with it in hopes of a promotion, but Harken instead gives the job to himself. Dale is a dental assistant to Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston), who wants to have sex with Dale, who is engaged to Stacy (Lindsay Sloane). Julia constantly sexually harasses Dale, even forcing him to look at her while she wears only a lab coat and panties in the office. Kurt enjoys his job working at an industrial company for Jack Pellitt (Donald Sutherland), who treats Kurt like a son, but Jack dies of a heart attack one day, leaving his biological, cocaine-addicted son Bobby (Colin Farrell) in charge. Bobby threatens to run the company into the ground by having the overweight and handicapped employees fired along with doing cocaine and having prostitutes in his office.

One night over drinks, Kurt suggests their lives would be happier if their bosses weren't alive, but Dale says it's a silly idea to kill their bosses. However, the next day, Julia invites Stacy for a free dental checkup and while she is unconscious, Julia threatens to show Stacy photos of what looks like Dale having sex with Julia, taken while he was unconscious. That night, Dale finally agrees to help kill their bosses and Nick reluctantly does the same. They go into a bar and meet Dean "Motherfucker" Jones (Jamie Foxx), a paroled ex-con who will only agree to be a murder consultant. Jones suggests that the three stage murders that look like accidents and that they do each others' bosses so as to not be traced.

The three first do reconnaissance at Pellitt's house. Kurt goes into his bathroom and rubs Pellitt's toiletries on his anus before taking his cell phone off the nightstand. Nick and Dale find his cocaine stash in the living room but accidentally spill it on the carpet. The three then go to Harken's house where Dale waits in the car with a peanut butter sandwich. Dale then throws his sandwich bag out the window where Harken, returning from a jog, picks it up and berates Dale for littering. Harken then suffers an attack due to his peanut allergy, but Dale manages to revive him. Nick and Kurt, watching through the window, think Dale is stabbing Harken to death and flee the house, with Kurt accidentally dropping Pellitt's phone under the bed. Dale catches up with Nick and Kurt and tells them what happened. Nick and Kurt decide they can use Harken's peanut allergy to poison him while he's taking a shower and also spike Pellitt's cocaine with poison.

The next night, while Kurt goes to do reconnaissance at Julia's, Nick and Dale wait outside of Pellitt's and Harken's houses, respectively, waiting for an opportunity. Harken, who suspects his wife Rhonda of cheating on him, finds Pellitt's cell phone. Believing Pellitt to be having an affair with Rhonda, he leaves the house, giving Dale an opportunity to go in. Dale however can't bring himself to kill somebody and calls Nick, who feels the same way. Harken, however, shows up at Pellitt's house and shoots him twice, killing him. Nick decides to flee, setting off a nearby traffic camera in the process. They are confronted by the police, who want to bring them in for questioning.

Nick explains to the detectives that he was drag racing through the light as an explanation for his speeding nearby Pellitt's house. The detectives don't believe them as Kurt is one of Pellitt's employees, but Dale points out that since they are not under arrest, they can't be held onto without a warrant and are let go. However, the detectives point out that they will check Pellitt's house for DNA, and Kurt remembers that he rubbed the toiletries on his anus and will be implicated with Pellitt's murder as a result. The three consult Jones again, but leave when they learn that Jones was convicted of only bootlegging a film in a theater. They decide that they will need to get Harken to confess to killing Pellitt to clear themselves.
The three crash a surprise birthday party for Harken, where Nick and Dale talk to Harken while Kurt, who has the audio recorder, has sex with Rhonda. Harken openly confesses to killing Pellitt because he is about to kill them as well. As Harken goes for his gun, Nick and Dale escape with Kurt. Harken chases them so Kurt asks his navigation system operator to get him out of trouble. However, the operator shuts down his engine believing he had committed a crime. Harken catches up with them and tells them he will pin Pellitt's murder on them when the police arrive, even going so far as to deliberately wound himself to implicate them. However, the operator in the car had recorded their conversation right before the police arrived. Hearing the confession, the police arrest Harken and the trio manage to use their testimony to bargain getting their lesser charges waived.



In the aftermath, Nick is promoted to president of his company. The most senior employee at Kurt's company becomes the owner. Dale frames Julia by suggesting take advantage of a patient, and has Jones record it. With the upper hand, Dale asks Julia for a paid two-week vacation for his honeymoon and orders her to stop harassing him.