Horrible Bosses (Movie Review)

*Updated April 2026

Director Seth Gordon makes a futile attempt to create a modern version of The Three Stooges with Horrible Bosses. It is one of the most vexing and exasperating R-rated comedies I have seen all year. It opens with the great promise of a clever film, a great cast, and an enthralling premise.

But all it delivers are lame jokes, incomprehensible plot points, and unrelenting idiocy. The characters are impossible to relate to, besides the universal desire to kill your boss at some point in your life. Altogether, most of the jokes just do not work.

The Convoluted Plot To Murder Management

Jason Bateman plays management candidate Nick Hendricks. He has been logging 12-hour days and taking abuse from his boss, Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey), with the promise of a promotion. Now he knows that is never going to happen.

Meanwhile, dental assistant Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) struggles to maintain his self-respect against the relentless advances of Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston). Accountant Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) learns his company’s corrupt new owner, Bobby Pellit (Colin Farrell), plans to ruin his career. Bobby also intends to funnel toxic waste into an unsuspecting population after the unfortunate death of his father.

Their plan is not to quit their gigs, but to murder their bosses. On the strength of a few drinks and dubious advice from a hustling ex-con (Jamie Foxx), the guys devise a foolproof plan. But even the best-laid plans are only as good as the brains behind them.

A Relatable Premise Ruined By Artificial Devices

The promise of the premise alone is enough to attract people to the film. It relies entirely on a story that almost anyone can identify with. As long as people can relate to a subject matter, you have half of the battle won.

Disappointingly, the premise becomes diluted by artificial writer devices meant to draw laughs. The film ultimately collapses under the weight of these forced, engineered jokes. It feels dictated by the success of today’s R-rated comedies instead of offering genuine freshness.

An Illogical Conflict Of Interest

The key problem begins with Dale Arbus’s self-righteous storyline. He is an ordinary man engaged to an ordinary-looking woman. The notion of an engaged heterosexual man being disgusted by the thought of his unbelievably hot female boss wanting to bed him is abnormal.

He wants to kill her for this, and no one is going to buy it. Screenwriters Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan M. Goldstein thought this plot line was funny. A drop-dead gorgeous woman acting like a porn star over an average-looking joe is ridiculous, not hilarious.

What would have created a sense of realistic tension is for Dale to face advances from a hideous, unsightly woman. At that point, all men would relate to him. Movies require a willing suspension of disbelief, but none of that exists here.

Sparks Of Brilliance Lost In Execution

By no means is the film unwatchable, and I think the team meant well. To be fair, its most clever parts occur during the opening interactions and the Jamie Foxx encounter. That is perhaps a total of 25 minutes of cleverness, which is not enough for today’s high-priced movie tickets.

The cast ensemble is a massive coup. We have not seen Kevin Spacey play the big bad boss so convincingly since Swimming with Sharks and Glengarry Glen Ross. Jennifer Aniston’s sexually charged potty mouth will also be impressed into the memories of every viewer.

All the ingredients were there, but the reigning 2011 R-rated comedy is still Bridesmaids, which successfully fused the best of everything. If you are looking for a follow-up, you might even consider Horrible Bosses 2 a curious case study in comparison.