Horrible Bosses
Horrible Bosses is a 2011 American crime comedy film directed by Seth Gordon and written by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein, from a story by Markowitz. It stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, and Jamie Foxx. The plot follows three friends, played by Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis, who decide to murder their respective overbearing, abusive bosses, portrayed by Spacey, Aniston, and Farrell.
Markowitz's script was bought by New Line Cinema in 2005 and the film spent six years in various states of pre-production, with a variety of actors attached to different roles. By 2010, Goldstein and Daley had rewritten the script, and the film finally went into production.
The film premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on June 30, 2011, and was released on July 8, 2011, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $209.8 million worldwide. A sequel, Horrible Bosses 2, was released on November 26, 2014.
Plot
Nick Hendricks, Dale Arbus and Kurt Buckman are friends working in Riverside, California, who despise their bosses: Nick works at a financial firm for the sadistic Dave Harken, who hints at a possible promotion for Nick for months, only to award it to himself; Dale is a dental assistant being sexually harassed by his boss, Dr. Julia Harris, who threatens to tell his fiancée Stacy that he had sex with her unless he actually has sex with her; Kurt enjoys working for the kind-hearted Jack Pellit at his chemical company, but after Jack unexpectedly dies of a heart attack, the company is taken over by Jack's arrogant, cocaine-addicted son Bobby, whose apathy and incompetence threatens the future of the company.At night, over drinks, Kurt jokingly suggests that their lives would be happier if their bosses were no longer alive. Initially hesitant, they eventually agree to kill their bosses. In search of a hitman, the trio meet Dean "Motherfucker" Jones, an ex-con who offers to be their "murder consultant." Jones suggests that they kill each other's bosses to hide their motives, while making the deaths look like accidents.
The trio poke around Bobby's house, and Kurt steals his phone. They next go to Harken's house, where Kurt and Nick go inside while Dale waits in the car as a lookout, but Harken returns home and confronts Dale for littering, and then has an allergic reaction from the peanut butter on the litter. Dale saves Harken by stabbing him with an EpiPen, but Nick and Kurt think Dale is stabbing Harken to death and flee, with Kurt accidentally dropping Bobby's phone in Harken's bedroom.
The next night, Kurt watches Julia's home, but she seduces and has sex with him, while Nick and Dale wait outside Bobby's and Harken's houses, respectively, to commit the murders. Harken discovers Bobby's phone in his bedroom and uses it to find his address, suspecting his wife, Rhonda, is having an affair with Bobby. Harken drives over and shoots Bobby dead, while Nick secretly witnesses the murder.
Nick flees at high speed, setting off a traffic camera. At the bar, the trio plans to leave the cops an anonymous tip to get Harken arrested, but they are brought in for questioning by the police, who believe the camera footage makes Nick the prime suspect in Bobby's murder. Dale points out that they lack sufficient evidence to hold them there, forcing the police to release the trio, but they warn the trio that forensics is sweeping the house for DNA, and they realize that a prank by Kurt during their first break-in has left enough evidence to convict them. The trio consults with Jones again, who suggests that they get Harken to confess and secretly tape it.
The three accidentally crash Harken's surprise birthday party, where Nick and Dale get Harken to confess to the murder before realizing that Kurt, who has the audio recorder, is elsewhere having sex with Rhonda. Harken threatens to kill all three for attempting to blackmail him. They flee in Kurt's car, but he gives chase and repeatedly rams them, damaging their car and slowing it down.
The crashes alert Kurt's navigation-system operator, Gregory, who, believing they have committed a crime, remotely disables the car, allowing Harken to catch and hold them at gunpoint. Harken boasts to the trio about his plan to frame them for the murder, before he shoots himself in the leg to paint himself as a victim. The police arrive to arrest the trio, but Gregory plays a recording that has Harken confessing to Bobby's murder.
Harken is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, while the friends get their charges waived. Nick is promoted to president of the company with a raise under a friendly but slightly psychotic CEO; Kurt remains in his position under a promoted co-worker; Dale, with the help of Jones, blackmails Julia into ending her harassment.
Cast
- Jason Bateman as Nick Hendricks:
- Charlie Day as Dale Arbus:
- Jason Sudeikis as Kurt Buckman:
- Jennifer Aniston as Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S.:
- Colin Farrell as Bobby Pellit:
- Kevin Spacey as Dave Harken:
- Donald Sutherland as Jack Pellit, Bobby's father and Kurt's boss.
- Jamie Foxx as Dean 'Motherfucker' Jones:
- Julie Bowen as Rhonda, Harken's wife. Bowen stated that her character "may or may not be a hussy", the character described as intentionally making her husband jealous.
- P. J. Byrne as Kenny Sommerfeld, a former investment manager and friend from high school of Nick, Dale and Kurt, now scrounging for drinks.
- Wendell Pierce and Ron White as Detectives Hagan and Samson, a pair of cops.
- Lindsay Sloane as Dale's fiancée Stacy.
Production
Development
Michael Markowitz's script for Horrible Bosses was sold at auction to New Line Cinema by Brett Ratner's production company Rat Entertainment in 2005 for a six-figure amount. Ratner initially was interested in directing, but became occupied with directing the comedy Tower Heist. Frank Oz and David Dobkin were in talks to direct. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley rewrote the script in 2010, and the project went into production with Seth Gordon directing.Casting
During the six-year development of the film, several actors were in negotiations to star, including Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Reynolds, Dax Shepard, and Johnny Knoxville. Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Jeff Bridges had been approached by New Line Cinema to take the role of Dave Harken, described as a psychopathic master manipulator with an attractive wife. Kevin Spacey signed up for the role in June 2010. Ashton Kutcher was in talks to play Dale Arbus at two different points in the lengthy production, before the role ultimately went to Charlie Day.Design
Production designer Shepherd Frankel specifically set out to create distinctly different environments for the three employees and their respective bosses' homes and offices. Nick and Harken's workplace is the "Comnidyne" bullpen, which was designed to "enhance the discomfort and anxiety of lower-level employees clustered in the center of the room where every movement is monitored by the boss from his corner office." The design team met with financial strategists and management companies to learn about the architecture of their office layouts to visually represent the experience of starting from a low-ranking position in a cubicle and aspiring to an office. Costume designer Carol Ramsey worked with Frankel and set decorator Jan Pascale to match Harken's suit to that of the surrounding "cold grey and blue" color palette of his office. Harken's home was described as "equally lacking in warmth" as the office but more lavishly decorated and "for show", including an intentionally oversized portrait of him with his "trophy wife".Designing Julia's office was described as a "challenge", infusing a "sensual vibe" into a dental office. Frankel approached the design through Julia's mentality, stating, "She's a Type A professional at the top of her game, who likes to play cat-and-mouse, so it's a completely controlled environment, with apertures and views into other rooms so she always knows what's going on". "It's highly designed, with rich wallpaper and tones, sumptuous artwork and subtle lighting—all very
disarming till you step into her private office. The blinds close, the door locks and you think, 'It's the Temple of Doom.'" Similarly approaching the character's home, the design allowed for wide windows which face onto a public street "which afford her the opportunity to put on the kind of show she couldn't get away with at work."
Bobby's environments were designed with more contrast, the character being new to the work area. Frankel described the contrast as "the company reflects human touch, whereas home is a shameless shrine to himself and his hedonistic appetites." Frankel continued, "It features a mishmash of anything he finds exotic and erotic, mostly Egyptian and Asian motifs with an '80s Studio 54 vibe, a makeshift dojo, lots of mirrors and a massage table." Some parts of the house design were provided by Farrell and Gordon's interpretation of the character and his "infatuation" with martial arts and "his delusions of prowess".