Horrible Bosses

At first glance this looks like a very impressive cast, it makes one ponder how they could get so many talented people in one place. Then I actually started to think about it, how they got so many big names to the table. Then that led me to wonder if any of these actors are actually big names anymore. Sure, you recognize everyone on the poster but what have they been doing? Then it came to me, nothing, they either haven't done anything of note for the past 5 years or they are up and coming actors who have yet to really do anything great on the big screen. All these actors have the potential to be great and it appears all they need is one great project to get them there. This is probably not that movie, but that talent still shines.

The movie revolves around three friends who have grown up together and each gone into a different field, and a different lifestyle. The movie opens on Jason Bateman who starred in "Arrested Development" until FOX gave it the ax in 2006 for being too funny a sitcom. His dry wit plays well here against his two co-stars go for a goofier approach. Both Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day are currently known more for their TV work but their talent is hard to deny which is why they have been getting more work, especially Sudeikis. The two worked well off each other in this movie which is not surprising as the two previously worked on Going the Distance together and always shared screen time. So once Sudeikis and Day were done riffing off each other Bateman would usually chime in with a one liner to cap the scene and they would move on. This formula was fairly effective as all three men know what they are doing and how to make their scenes funny.

Their opposition is three actors who are no stranger to the lead performance, but instead take a backseat to the funnymen. Kevin Spacey gets most of the screen time in a role he is very familiar with. He plays a psychotic boss who refuses to acknowledge the hard work his underling is performing for him. Colin Farrel and Jennifer Aniston play the supervisors of Sudeikis and Day respectively and go against type to do so. Jen faced a lot of criticism for none of her recent work being any, what’s the word, good. Typically cast as the good girl, she goes against the grain by spending the whole day hitting on her dental assistant. That's where the writers hope to get most of her laughs; by putting this typical good girl in some really raunchy situations and hope that it makes you scratch your head and wonder if she really just said that. I'm not sure what is most ridiculous about her character, that someone would have a problem with a babe like Aniston hitting on them, or that she would be singling out a guy like Charlie Day. A good lookin guy no doubt but Jen shows off her body in this one, and she has it all going for her and would clearly not be as hard pressed for sex as her character may believe she is. Colin Farrell rounds out the bunch, and while he did amazing work with In Bruges in 2008 has not had a box office hit in some time. He went against his norm by rocking a potbelly and a bald cap which really allows him to step out and be a huge douche. Both Aniston and Farrell make appearances in the beginning and are great in doing so but then go for a third of the film without another sighting. While Spacey is good and it is a pleasure to see him take his dickhead approach to another degree it would have been nice to see the other two antagonists a few more times.

So if the stars all do well then what is the problem with the movie? The writing is fine, granted the characters have no depth to them but the movie is only 100 minutes so it is tough to fit in a lot of complexion into an ensemble piece. There are a bunch of solid one liners and funny scenes in the movie which is what the writers are supposed to do. The director has a little problem of when to move on with a joke or when to stay on one a little longer, but he has been doing a lot of television lately and the pacing there is different. It’s nothing that bad, really just a knit pick as the typical TV director does a fine job of getting out of the way and letting his talent and creative team do their jobs.

There is nothing really wrong with this film, there is also just nothing great about it either. The stars are great when they are riffing on each other, the writing is solid, but there is just no laugh out loud moments in the movie. Rather it is full of small chuckles where one can note to themselves, 'hey that was funny,' but then they will most likely just move on and wait for the next movie this cast finds themselves in. C

The Switch

Don't you wish better for Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. Bateman was part of one of the funniest shows of the new millennium, (the OO’s what do you call the last decade) and because it got so mishandled by FOX it never got the notoriety it deserved while on the air. It has since taken on a cult like following with die-hard fans. The former Friends star has been followed around non-stop about her private life and never seems to catch a break with it. Both have been given many chances to helm a movie, but neither has been able to make it something special. Unfortunately this is nothing different.

Much like years of the past with competing studios coming out with movies with similar themes ala Antz and A Bug's Life, Dante's Peak and Volcano, and Armageddon and Deep Impact this year is all about artificial insemination. Hopefully the Jennifer Lopez version will soon be forgotten while no one will take notice of The Kids Are Alright until awards season (maybe).

This movie features Aniston as a woman who is tired of waiting for the right man, a stretch. She has decided to find a donor and get on with that part of the life. Bateman, the worrisome best friend, was put in the friend zone a long time ago and is apprehensive about the whole thing. She finds the guy with the right stuff and they have a party to celebrate, drinks are had, drugs are taken and just like any good party sperm samples are swapped.

The whole movie drags especially the first act. It takes so long to set the stage and gather that they are best friends and she wants a child. Meanwhile I did it in a sentence.

When we finally meet the kid played by Thomas Robinson the movie picks up. While there is almost zero chemistry between Aniston and Bateman, there is plenty between the Jason and little Tommy. Aniston has been in so many failed romantic comedies you would figure she could learn a thing or two but instead she still has yet to make a genuine connection. The movie fails to distinguish itself from other movies in the genre and just reuses old tools. Bateman rarely gets to unleash his dry wit onto the film, there are moments in the beginning where we see glimpses of it but once the kid enters the scene so does his style.

Jeff Goldblum is a bright spot in the movie, as Bateman's best man he is able to use some of the dry wit that Bateman never gets to unleash. His dry pandering creates some of the only laughable scenes in the movie. Meanwhile Aniston's BFF played by Juliette Lewis is all kinds of annoying, her shriek is almost as annoying as Bateman's narration, almost.

As long as Jen stays in the tabloids she is going to keep getting offers despite the garbage that she keeps attaching herself to. While Aniston may have her name first on the billing, this is a Bateman propelled movie and frankly he has never been able to handle the lead on the big screen. He does great in the ensemble as the straight man and is a solid contributor and second lead but that is it. Both of these actors need to start being much more selective about their roles. D