Horrible Bosses
Encyclopedia
Horrible Bosses is a 2011 black comedy film
directed by Seth Gordon
, written by Michael Markowitz
, John Francis Daley
and Jonathan Goldstein
, based on a story by Markowitz. It stars Jason Bateman
, Charlie Day
, Jason Sudeikis
, Jennifer Aniston
, Colin Farrell
, Kevin Spacey
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 in Los Angeles
on June 30, 2011, and received a wide release on July 8, 2011. The film exceeded financial expectations, accruing over $28 million in the first three days to make it the number two film in the United States during its opening weekend, and going on to become the highest grossing black comedy film of all time in unadjusted dollars, breaking the record previously set by The War of the Roses
in 1990. The film has grossed over $209 million worldwide.
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; some reviewers who felt it was dark, funny and explored its premise well, while others felt the jokes were racist
, homophobic
, and misogynistic
.
by his boss, Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston); she threatens to tell his fiancee (Lindsay Sloane
) that he had sex with her unless he actually has sex with her. Nick and Dale's accountant friend Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) enjoys working for Jack Pellitt (Donald Sutherland
) but after Jack dies, the company is taken over by Jack's cocaine-addicted, amoral son Bobby (Colin Farrell).
At night, over drinks, Kurt jokingly suggests that their lives would be happier if their bosses were no longer around. Initially hesitant, they eventually agree to do away with their employers. In search of a hitman
, the trio meet "Motherfucker" Jones (Jamie Foxx), an ex-con who agrees to be their "murder consultant". Jones suggests that Dale, Kurt and Nick kill each other's bosses to hide their motive while making the deaths look like accidents.
The three reconnoiter Bobby's house, and Kurt steals Bobby's phone. They next go to Dave's house. Kurt and Nick go inside while Dale waits in the car. Dave returns home and confronts Dale for littering, but then has an allergy attack from the peanut butter on the litter. Dale saves Dave by stabbing him with an EpiPen
. Nick and Kurt think Dale is stabbing Dave to death and flee, Kurt accidentally dropping Bobby's phone in Dave's bedroom. Dave's wife Rhonda (Julie Bowen
) thanks Dale for saving her husband, causing Dave to jealously accuse her of having an affair with Dale. The next night, while Kurt watches Julia's home, Nick and Dale wait outside Bobby's and Dave's houses to commit the murders. Dave discovers Bobby's cellphone in his bedroom and uses it to find his address, suspecting his wife is having an affair. He drives over and kills Bobby, with Nick as a secret witness.
Nick flees at high speed, setting off a traffic camera
. The three friends meet to discuss their reservations about continuing with their plan. They are arrested by the police, who feel the camera footage makes them suspects in Bobby's murder. Lacking evidence, the police are forced to let the trio go free.
They consult with Jones again, but learn that he has never actually killed anyone, having been imprisoned for bootlegging Snow Falling on Cedars
. They decide their only option is to get Dave to confess and secretly tape it. The three accidentally crash Dave's surprise birthday party. Nick and Dale get Dave to confess to the murder before realizing that Kurt, who has the audio recorder, is elsewhere having sex with Rhonda. Dave threatens to kill all three for attempting to blackmail him. They flee by car. Dave gives chase, ramming their vehicle. Kurt asks his car's navigation-system operator to help get them out of trouble. Believing they have committed a crime, the operator remotely disables Kurt's car, allowing Dave to catch and hold them at gunpoint. Dave shoots himself in the leg as he details his plan to frame them for murdering Bobby and attempting to kill him to get rid of the witness.
The police arrest Nick, Dale and Kurt, but the navigation-system operator reveals that the entire conversation was recorded. Dave is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, while the friends get their charges waived. Nick is promoted to president of the company under a sadistic CEO (Bob Newhart
), Kurt retains his job under a new boss, and Dale blackmails Julia into ending her harassment by convincing her to sexually harass a supposedly unconscious patient while Jones secretly records the act.
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
.
On July 27, 2010, Isaiah Mustafa
was confirmed as joining the cast. Mustafa was quoted as saying "It's a smaller role". Julie Bowen
appears in the film as Rhonda, Dave Harken's wife. Bowen stated that her character "may or may not be a hussy", the character described as intentionally making her husband jealous. Ioan Gruffudd
has a cameo as a male prostitute erroneously hired as a hitman. Lindsay Sloane
appears as Dale's fiancee Stacy. P.J. Byrne plays Kenny Sommerfeld, a former investment manager, now scrounging for drinks, while Wendell Pierce
and Ron White
play a pair of cops. Bob Newhart
makes a cameo as sadistic Comnidyne CEO Louis Sherman.
. 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 Gordon directing.
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 [Jack Pellitt's] human touch, whereas [Bobby Pellitt's] 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".
. The production team attempted to find locations "that people haven't already seen a hundred times in movies and on TV", aiming for the film to appear as if it could be taking place anywhere in America "where people are trying to pursue the American dream but getting stopped by a horrible boss." "Comnidyine" was represented by an office building in Torrance, California
, with the crew building the set on a vacant floor. For "Pellitt Chemical", the production team found a "perfect landscape of pipes and containers" in Santa Fe Springs, surrounding an unoccupied water cleaning and storage facility. To take advantage of the surrounding imagery, the warehouse required an extensive series of overhauls, including cutting windows into concrete walls and creating new doorways to allow for visuals of the warehouse exterior and provide a setting for the final scene of Sutherland's character. A T.G.I. Friday's
in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, was used as a bar frequented by Nick, Dale and Kurt, while the bar scene where they meet with Jones was staged in downtown Los Angeles.
The film was shot digitally
using the Panavision Genesis
camera. Gordon encouraged the actors to improvise, though Aniston claimed to not have taken advantage of the offer as much as her co-stars, stating, "My dialogue was just so beautifully choreographed that there wasn’t much that I needed to do”.
of Pearl Jam
, Stefan Lessard
of Dave Matthews Band
and Money Mark
—a collaborator with The Beastie Boys. McCready, Lessard, and Mark worked with musicians Matt Chamberlain
, David Levita, Aaron Kaplan, Victor Indrizzo
, Chris Chaney
, Davey Chegwidden and DJ Cheapshot
to develop the music. Major contributions were provided by Mark on keyboard, McCready and Levita on guitar, Chaney and Lessard on bass, Indrizzo on drums and DJ Cheapshot on turntables.
Lennertz recorded the soundtrack at The Village
recording studio in West Los Angeles and Capitol Records
. Lennertz attempted to remain "authentic" to the characters' progression from average worker to calculated killer. To achieve this aim, he decided against recording digitally, instead recording the tracks on two-inch analog tape
, intending each musical cue to sound as if it was emanating from a vinyl record
. He explained, "The idea was to put together a band that would record the score together the same way that they would make an album. It isn't over-produced or shiny and digital in any way. It's brash, noisy, and full of bravado and swagger. I knew that if we could harness some of this sonic magic in the score, then the toughness and confidence of the music would play against Bateman, Sudeikis, and Charlie Day to really emphasize and elevate the humor in the situations that transpire." Lennertz continued, "We tracked through tape before Pro Tools
to get that fat sound, and made every choice based on feel rather than perfection. We even used the same Wurlitzer
that Money Mark played on Beck's classic ‘Where It's At
’. At the end of the day, Seth [Gordon] and I wanted to produce a score that is as irreverent and full of attitude as the movie itself. I think we did it...and most of all, everyone had a blast in the process."
Horrible Bosses: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released in physical and digital formats on July 5, 2011, by WaterTower Music. The soundtrack consists of 33 tracks with a runtime of 63 minutes.
in Hollywood, California.
United States and Canada
Horrible Bosses was released on July 8, 2011 in the United States and Canada across 3,040 theaters. It grossed $9.9M on the first day, giving it the second largest opening gross for an original R-rated comedy of the summer, behind Bad Teacher
($12.2M). For the opening weekend, the film took in a total of $28,302,165, an average of $9,310 per theater, making it the number two film for the weekend, behind Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($47.1M), the second highest-grossing opening weekend for an original R-rated comedy, again behind Bad Teacher ($31.6M), and the highest-grossing opening weekend ever for a dark/black comedy film, overtaking the 2004 The Stepford Wives
($21.4M). The opening weekend audience was 51% male, and 64% of the audience were over 25 years of age. The second weekend (15–17 July) saw a further 94 theaters added, for a total of 3,134. Box office revenue dropped by a "respectable" 38%, taking $17.6M for a total gross of $60M in ten days. The film ranked third for the weekend. It remained in the top five films during its third week, dropping 33% and leaving thirty theaters from the previous weekend, to take in $11.9M for a gross of $82.6M in 17 days. On July 28, 2011, with $87.6M after 20 days, Horrible Bosses surpassed The War of the Roses
($86.8M) to become the highest grossing dark/black comedy film in unadjusted dollars.
Markets elsewhere
Horrible Bosses was released on July 7, 2011, in the United Arab Emirates ($258,108), and on July 8 in Estonia ($24,471), Latvia ($15,750), Lebanon ($36,316) and Lithuania ($13,676), grossing $348,321 for the opening weekend and accruing a total of $855,009 in the first 17 days. On the weekend of July 21–24, the film opened in the United Kingdom ($3,386,876), Greece ($367,845), Israel ($200,372), South Africa ($193,632), Norway ($109,252) and East Africa ($7,324).
, or an average rating of 6.2 out of 10. According to the website, the critical consensus is, "It's nasty, uneven, and far from original, but thanks to a smartly assembled cast that makes the most of a solid premise, Horrible Bosses works." Review aggregate Metacritic
gave it a score of 57 out of 100, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 40 reviews.
Roger Ebert
gave the film three and a half stars out of four, calling it "well-cast" and commending it for playing to each actor's strengths. Ebert gave particular praise to Spacey, labeling him "superb", and Aniston, judging her performance to be a "surprise" and a return to form, stating "she has acute comic timing and hilariously enacts alarming sexual hungers". Ebert called Horrible Bosses "cheerful and wicked". Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly
reacted positively, calling the film "a bouncy, well-built, delightfully nasty tale of resentment, desperation, and amoral revenge" and complimented the casting of the protagonists and antagonists. The A.V. Club
s Nathan Rabin
also praised the cast, stating that the picture "succeeds almost entirely on the chemistry of its three leads, who remain likeable even while resorting to homicide", adding the "acting more than compensates for the film's other failings." Rabin singled out Day's performance as "a potent illustration of how a brilliant character actor with a spark of madness can elevate a ramshackle lowbrow farce into a solid mainstream comedy through sheer force of charisma." Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net credited director Seth Gordon with having assembled "the perfect cast", claiming "the six leads kill in every scene", but echoed Nathan Rabin's sentiments that Day is the "real standout". Douglas summarized the picture as "dark fun that works better than expected due to a well-developed script, an impeccable cast and a director who knows how to put the two together". A. O. Scott
of The New York Times
stated "the timing of the cast...is impeccable" and appreciated that the script did not attempt "to cut its coarseness with a hypocritical dose of sweetness or respectability". The review concluded that "in the ways that count and even when it shouldn’t, Horrible Bosses works."
USA Today
s Scott Bowles awarded the film three out of four stars, labeling it a "surprising comedy that rivals Bridesmaids
as the funniest film of the summer, if not the year." Bowles added that "the characters are so likable", giving particular credit to Sudeikis though also adding praise for the performances of Bateman and Day. The dialog was also lauded by Bowles, which commented that "Seth Gordon has a deft touch with water-cooler talk—even when the water cooler might be spiked with poison." Leonard Maltin
of indieWire
considered Day to have had the "breakout role" and offered praise to the performances of the cast, but lamented the lack of screen time for Farrell's character. Maltin concluded "the movie has just enough raunchiness to identify it as a 2011 comedy, just enough cleverness to admire, and just the right camaraderie among its three male stars, which turns out to be the movie’s greatest strength." Rolling Stone
s Peter Travers
gave kudos to the "killer cast", with specific credit given to Bateman and Day, but was critical of the movie, stating "it wussies out on a sharp premise" and that it is a "hit-and-miss farce that leaves you wishing it was funnier than it is" The Guardian
s Philip French called Horrible Bosses "a lumbering, misogynistic affair", but admitted "I laughed frequently, probably to the detriment of my self-respect." Nicholas Barber of The Independent
gave a positive review, complimenting Gordon for not allowing the actors' improvisation to be detrimental to the pacing, but felt the movie was not as "dark" as its premise required, saying "what edginess the film does have comes instead from the inordinate quantity of swearing, plus a smattering of homophobia and misogyny."
Salon
s Andrew O'Hehir offered a mixed response, characterizing the film as a "lot funnier in theory than in practice, but it won't ruin your Saturday night". Salon appreciated the "effortless comic chemistry" between Sudeikis, Bateman and Day and singled out Bateman, Aniston and Spacey for their performances. O'Hehir was however critical of the perceived homophobia, sexism and racism. The Hollywood Reporter
s Kirk Honeycutt responded negatively, stating the jokes failed to be funny, stating "Seth Gordon shows no flair for turning the absurdities and cartoonish characters in the script...into anything more than a collection of moments in search of laughs." Karina Longworth of The Village Voice
was critical of the premise, which she felt lacked any legitimate "rage" against the characters' bosses, stating "...there's every sign that, even without these particular emasculators, Dale, Kurt and Nick would still be—for lack of a better word—total pussies." Longworth felt that the humor was "rarely actually laugh-out-loud funny, and never truly dark or daring". She particular criticized the all-white, male protagonists and a plot she deemed racist and filled with "stereotypes". Justin Chang of Variety
praised the performance of the ensemble cast, but considered the plot to be "predictably moronic, vulgar and juvenile". Chang echoed the sentiments of The Village Voice in lamenting that the film failed to pursue the premise to "darker, more daring territory" and faulted it for falling back on "over-the-top comic exaggeration".
Horrible Bosses was released on DVD
and Blu-ray Disc
in the United States on October 11, 2011. The DVD contains the theatrical cut of the film and deleted scene
s. The Blu-ray Disc edition contains the Blu-ray Disc, the DVD and a digital version of the film in a single pack. The Blu-ray Disc version is an unrated, extended cut (the "Totally Inappropriate Edition") with a runtime of 106 minutes compared to the theatrical 98 minutes. The Blu-ray Disc contains deleted scenes and four featurettes: My Least Favorite Career, Surviving a Horrible Boss, Being Mean Is So Much Fun, and The Making of the Horrible Bosses Soundtrack. Both the theatrical and extended cuts are presented in the film's original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 with DTS-HD Master Audio
sound. Beginning with the Blu-ray Disc release of Horrible Bosses and Green Lantern
, Warner Bros. included a code that allows the owner to access a version of the film via UltraViolet, a cloud storage
service which allows streaming or downloading to a variety of devices.
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
directed by Seth Gordon
Seth Gordon
Seth Gordon is an American film director, producer, and film editor. He has produced and directed both film and TV for various film and television studios, including PBS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations 1% For Development Fund...
, written by Michael Markowitz
Michael Markowitz
Michael Markowitz is a writer, producer, and actor who began his comedy career in The Mee-Ow Show, an improv group at Northwestern University. Some projects he has worked on include Duckman, Becker, and the films Horrible Bosses and . He has collaborated several times in the past with Jason...
, John Francis Daley
John Francis Daley
John Francis Daley is an American television and film actor, singer, screenwriter, and director, sometimes credited as John Daley or John Francis Daly. He is best known for playing Sam Weir on the NBC comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks and his current role as Lance Sweets on the series Bones...
and Jonathan Goldstein
Jonathan Goldstein (screenwriter)
Jonathan Michael Goldstein is an American screenwriter and television writer/producer. He has written for numerous situation comedies, including The PJ’s starring Eddie Murphy, The Geena Davis Show, Good Morning Miami, Four Kings, and The New Adventures of Old Christine...
, based on a story by Markowitz. It stars Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...
, Charlie Day
Charlie Day
Charles Peckham "Charlie" Day is an American television and film actor, from Middletown, Rhode Island, best known for playing Charlie Kelly on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia".-Early life:...
, Jason Sudeikis
Jason Sudeikis
Daniel Jason Sudeikis is an American actor and comedian currently starring as a cast member on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:Sudeikis was born Daniel Jason Sudeikis in Fairfax, Virginia, the son of Kathryn , a travel agent who was president of the American Society of Travel Agents, and Dan...
, Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
, Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
, Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
and Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...
. 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 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on June 30, 2011, and received a wide release on July 8, 2011. The film exceeded financial expectations, accruing over $28 million in the first three days to make it the number two film in the United States during its opening weekend, and going on to become the highest grossing black comedy film of all time in unadjusted dollars, breaking the record previously set by The War of the Roses
The War of the Roses (film)
The War of the Roses is a 1989 American comedy film based upon the 1981 novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler. It is a black comedy about a wealthy couple with a seemingly perfect marriage. When their marriage begins to fall apart, material possessions become the center of an outrageous and...
in 1990. The film has grossed over $209 million worldwide.
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; some reviewers who felt it was dark, funny and explored its premise well, while others felt the jokes were racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, homophobic
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, and misogynistic
Misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...
.
Plot
Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman) and Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) are friends who despise their bosses. Nick works at a financial firm for emotionally abusive Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) who dangles the possibility of a promotion in front of Nick, only to award it to himself. Dale is a dental assistant being sexually harassedSexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
by his boss, Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston); she threatens to tell his fiancee (Lindsay Sloane
Lindsay Sloane
Lindsay Sloane is an American actress. She is known for her role as Big Red in the first Bring It On and as Valerie Birkhead on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch .-Personal life:...
) that he had sex with her unless he actually has sex with her. Nick and Dale's accountant friend Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) enjoys working for Jack Pellitt (Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
) but after Jack dies, the company is taken over by Jack's cocaine-addicted, amoral son Bobby (Colin Farrell).
At night, over drinks, Kurt jokingly suggests that their lives would be happier if their bosses were no longer around. Initially hesitant, they eventually agree to do away with their employers. In search of a hitman
Hitman
A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...
, the trio meet "Motherfucker" Jones (Jamie Foxx), an ex-con who agrees to be their "murder consultant". Jones suggests that Dale, Kurt and Nick kill each other's bosses to hide their motive while making the deaths look like accidents.
The three reconnoiter Bobby's house, and Kurt steals Bobby's phone. They next go to Dave's house. Kurt and Nick go inside while Dale waits in the car. Dave returns home and confronts Dale for littering, but then has an allergy attack from the peanut butter on the litter. Dale saves Dave by stabbing him with an EpiPen
EpiPen
An epinephrine autoinjector is a medical device used to deliver a measured dose of epinephrine using autoinjector technology, most frequently for the treatment of acute allergic reactions to avoid or treat the onset of anaphylactic shock.Trade names for this device include EpiPen, Twinject,...
. Nick and Kurt think Dale is stabbing Dave to death and flee, Kurt accidentally dropping Bobby's phone in Dave's bedroom. Dave's wife Rhonda (Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen is an American film and television actress. She played Carol Vessey on Ed and Denise Bauer on Boston Legal. She is best known for playing Claire Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011...
) thanks Dale for saving her husband, causing Dave to jealously accuse her of having an affair with Dale. The next night, while Kurt watches Julia's home, Nick and Dale wait outside Bobby's and Dave's houses to commit the murders. Dave discovers Bobby's cellphone in his bedroom and uses it to find his address, suspecting his wife is having an affair. He drives over and kills Bobby, with Nick as a secret witness.
Nick flees at high speed, setting off a traffic camera
Traffic camera
A traffic camera is a video camera which observes vehicular traffic on a road. Typically, these are put along major roads such as highways, freeways, motorways, autoroutes and expressways, as well as arterial roads, and are connected with optical fibers buried alongside or even under the road,...
. The three friends meet to discuss their reservations about continuing with their plan. They are arrested by the police, who feel the camera footage makes them suspects in Bobby's murder. Lacking evidence, the police are forced to let the trio go free.
They consult with Jones again, but learn that he has never actually killed anyone, having been imprisoned for bootlegging Snow Falling on Cedars
Snow Falling on Cedars (film)
Snow Falling on Cedars is a film directed by Scott Hicks. It is based on David Guterson's novel of the same title. It was released in 1999 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.-Plot:...
. They decide their only option is to get Dave to confess and secretly tape it. The three accidentally crash Dave's surprise birthday party. Nick and Dale get Dave to confess to the murder before realizing that Kurt, who has the audio recorder, is elsewhere having sex with Rhonda. Dave threatens to kill all three for attempting to blackmail him. They flee by car. Dave gives chase, ramming their vehicle. Kurt asks his car's navigation-system operator to help get them out of trouble. Believing they have committed a crime, the operator remotely disables Kurt's car, allowing Dave to catch and hold them at gunpoint. Dave shoots himself in the leg as he details his plan to frame them for murdering Bobby and attempting to kill him to get rid of the witness.
The police arrest Nick, Dale and Kurt, but the navigation-system operator reveals that the entire conversation was recorded. Dave is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, while the friends get their charges waived. Nick is promoted to president of the company under a sadistic CEO (Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
), Kurt retains his job under a new boss, and Dale blackmails Julia into ending her harassment by convincing her to sexually harass a supposedly unconscious patient while Jones secretly records the act.
Cast
- Jason BatemanJason BatemanJason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...
as Nick Hendricks.
- An executive who is manipulated into jumping through hoops in order to get a promotion that his boss never intended to give him. Markowitz wrote the role specifically for Bateman.
- Charlie DayCharlie DayCharles Peckham "Charlie" Day is an American television and film actor, from Middletown, Rhode Island, best known for playing Charlie Kelly on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia".-Early life:...
as Dale Arbus.
- Charlie Day
- A dental assistant who is sexually harassed by his boss. Described as a "hopeless romantic" in love with his fiancée. Ashton KutcherAshton KutcherChristopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
was in talks for the role at two different points in the lengthy production. Day was considered for the role following his co-starring performance with Sudeikis in the 2010 film Going the DistanceGoing the Distance (2010 film)Going the Distance is a 2010 romantic comedy film directed by Nanette Burstein, and starring Justin Long and Drew Barrymore. The movie began filming in New York City in July 2009, and was released on September 3, 2010.-Plot:...
—ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
reported that industry insiders believed his performance overshadowed the main stars.- Jason SudeikisJason SudeikisDaniel Jason Sudeikis is an American actor and comedian currently starring as a cast member on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:Sudeikis was born Daniel Jason Sudeikis in Fairfax, Virginia, the son of Kathryn , a travel agent who was president of the American Society of Travel Agents, and Dan...
as Kurt Buckman.
- Jason Sudeikis
- An account manager dealing with a new, drug-addicted boss after his former boss dies. Sudeikis was cast in May 2010.
- Jennifer AnistonJennifer AnistonJennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
as Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S..
- Jennifer Aniston
- Markowitz based the character on a former boss, claiming she was "very sexually aggressive with everybody". When writing the script, Markowitz intended for the role to go to Aniston. He stated, "but [the aforementioned boss] looked more like Cruella de VilCruella de VilCruella de Vil is a fictional character and the iconic villain in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Disney's 1961 animated film adaptation One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Disney's live-action film adaptations 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians. In all her incarnations,...
. It was like flirting with a cobweb. So I decided for the sake of the movie, let’s go with Jennifer Aniston.” The actress insisted on dyeing her hair brunette for the role, wanting to look different from other characters she had played.- Colin FarrellColin FarrellColin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
as Bobby Pellitt
- Colin Farrell
- Described as a "weaselly scion" and a "corrupt and incompetent jerk who's in charge of things but clearly has no idea what he's doing." Farrell explained the motivation he gave to the character, stating "This guy thinks he's God's gift to women, God's gift to intellect, to humor, to the club scene, to everything. It's all part of his grandiose sense of self-esteem, which is probably masking a deeper sense of being a disappointment to his father and being riddled with envy over the relationship his father had with Kurt, and all kinds of other things. With Pellit, Seth gave me complete license to act as pathologically screwed up as possible." Farrell contributed significantly to the appearance of his character, suggesting the comb-over hairstyle, pot-belly and an affinity for Chinese dragons.
- Kevin SpaceyKevin SpaceyKevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
as Dave Harken
- Kevin Spacey
- President of Comnidyne Industries. Tom CruiseTom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
, Philip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
and Jeff BridgesJeff BridgesJeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
had been approached by New Line Cinema to take the role, described as a master manipulator with an attractive wife. Spacey signed up for the role in June 2010. The part was considered "integral" to the film. Gordon commented that the character was an amalgamation of several real bosses (rather than one single person) to avoid being sued.- Jamie FoxxJamie FoxxEric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...
as Dean "Motherfucker" Jones.
- Jamie Foxx
- The character had the more "colorful" name "Cocksucker Jones", but it was changed at the request of Foxx, with producer Jay Stern commenting that Foxx felt it "was over the line". The current name was said to be subject to further change, prior to the release of the film. Foxx contributed to his character's appearance, suggesting full-scalp tattoos and a retroRetroRetro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...
clothing style. Foxx described the appearance as "a guy who maybe went to jail for a minute and now he's living in his own time capsule. When he got out he went right back to the clothes he thought were hot when he went in."
During the six-year development of the film, several actors were in negotiations to star, including Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
, Vince Vaughn
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...
, Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
, Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...
, Dax Shepard
Dax Shepard
Dax Randall Shepard is an American actor.- Early life :Shepard was born in Milford, Michigan and attended Muir Junior High and Walled Lake Central High School, before enrolling in The Groundlings school. He later received a degree in anthropology at UCLA...
, and Johnny Knoxville
Johnny Knoxville
Philip John Clapp , better known by his stage name Johnny Knoxville, is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, stunt performer, best known for being the co-creator and principal star of the MTV reality series Jackass, with the catchphrase "I'm Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to Jackass."-Early...
.
On July 27, 2010, Isaiah Mustafa
Isaiah Mustafa
Isaiah Mustafa is an American actor and former NFL practice squad wide receiver. Mustafa is widely known as the main character for a series of Old Spice TV commercials, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.-Early life:...
was confirmed as joining the cast. Mustafa was quoted as saying "It's a smaller role". Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen is an American film and television actress. She played Carol Vessey on Ed and Denise Bauer on Boston Legal. She is best known for playing Claire Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011...
appears in the film as Rhonda, Dave Harken's wife. Bowen stated that her character "may or may not be a hussy", the character described as intentionally making her husband jealous. Ioan Gruffudd
Ioan Gruffudd
Ioan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he started off in Welsh language film productions, then came to international attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in the film Titanic , and as Lt. John Beales in Black Hawk Down...
has a cameo as a male prostitute erroneously hired as a hitman. Lindsay Sloane
Lindsay Sloane
Lindsay Sloane is an American actress. She is known for her role as Big Red in the first Bring It On and as Valerie Birkhead on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch .-Personal life:...
appears as Dale's fiancee Stacy. P.J. Byrne plays Kenny Sommerfeld, a former investment manager, now scrounging for drinks, while Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce is an American actor, best known for his work in HBO dramas, including his portrayal of Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire and trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme.-Life and career:...
and Ron White
Ron White
Ronald "Ron" White is an American stand up comedian and satirist who has had two Grammy Award-nominations, and is RIAA certified 10x Platinum for CD and DVD sales of over 10 million units...
play a pair of cops. Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
makes a cameo as sadistic Comnidyne CEO Louis Sherman.
Development
Markowitz's script for Horrible Bosses was sold at auction to New Line Cinema by Ratner's Rat Entertainment in 2005 for a six-figure amount. Ratner initially was interested in directing, but became occupied with directing the comedy Tower HeistTower Heist
Tower Heist is a 2011 crime comedy film directed by Brett Ratner and written by Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson based on a story by Bill Collage, Adam Cooper, and Griffin. It was released on November 2, 2011 in the United Kingdom, with a United States release following two days later...
. Frank Oz
Frank Oz
Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...
and David Dobkin
David Dobkin (director)
David Dobkin is an American film director, producer and former screenwriter best known for directing Clay Pigeons, Shanghai Knights, Wedding Crashers, Fred Claus and The Change-Up.-Early life and education:...
were in talks to direct. Jonathan Goldstein
Jonathan Goldstein (screenwriter)
Jonathan Michael Goldstein is an American screenwriter and television writer/producer. He has written for numerous situation comedies, including The PJ’s starring Eddie Murphy, The Geena Davis Show, Good Morning Miami, Four Kings, and The New Adventures of Old Christine...
and John Francis Daley
John Francis Daley
John Francis Daley is an American television and film actor, singer, screenwriter, and director, sometimes credited as John Daley or John Francis Daly. He is best known for playing Sam Weir on the NBC comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks and his current role as Lance Sweets on the series Bones...
rewrote the script in 2010, and the project went into production with Gordon directing.
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 Dave'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 Dave's suit to that of the surrounding "cold grey and blue" color palette of his office. Dave'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 [Jack Pellitt's] human touch, whereas [Bobby Pellitt's] 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".
Filming
Filming of Horrible Bosses took place in and around Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The production team attempted to find locations "that people haven't already seen a hundred times in movies and on TV", aiming for the film to appear as if it could be taking place anywhere in America "where people are trying to pursue the American dream but getting stopped by a horrible boss." "Comnidyine" was represented by an office building in Torrance, California
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
, with the crew building the set on a vacant floor. For "Pellitt Chemical", the production team found a "perfect landscape of pipes and containers" in Santa Fe Springs, surrounding an unoccupied water cleaning and storage facility. To take advantage of the surrounding imagery, the warehouse required an extensive series of overhauls, including cutting windows into concrete walls and creating new doorways to allow for visuals of the warehouse exterior and provide a setting for the final scene of Sutherland's character. A T.G.I. Friday's
T.G.I. Friday's
T.G.I. Friday's is an American restaurant chain focusing on casual dining. The company is a unit of the Carlson Companies. Its name is taken from the expression TGIF...
in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, was used as a bar frequented by Nick, Dale and Kurt, while the bar scene where they meet with Jones was staged in downtown Los Angeles.
The film was shot digitally
Digital cinematography
Digital cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on video tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common...
using the Panavision Genesis
Genesis (Panavision)
The Genesis is Panavision's high-end digital movie camera, which uses a proprietary, full frame 35mm-width, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, 12.4-megapixel, RGB filtered CCD. It was first used by a feature crew to shoot Bryan Singer's Superman Returns and was shortly followed up thereafter by the World War I...
camera. Gordon encouraged the actors to improvise, though Aniston claimed to not have taken advantage of the offer as much as her co-stars, stating, "My dialogue was just so beautifully choreographed that there wasn’t much that I needed to do”.
Music
The soundtrack was composed by award-winning composer Christopher Lennertz, with music contributed by Mike McCreadyMike McCready
Michael David McCready is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Dave Krusen, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...
of Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
, Stefan Lessard
Stefan Lessard
Stefan Kahil Lessard is an American musician, most famous as the bassist for the Dave Matthews Band.-Early life:Lessard was born in Anaheim, California, to musicians Ron and Janaki Lessard. After moving a number of times during his childhood, Lessard and his family eventually settled in...
of Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
and Money Mark
Money Mark
Mark Ramos-Nishita aka Money Mark is a producer and musician who has collaborated with the Beastie Boys many times. He also appears on the first Banyan album in 1997 as the "Freeway Keyboardist".-Career:...
—a collaborator with The Beastie Boys. McCready, Lessard, and Mark worked with musicians Matt Chamberlain
Matt Chamberlain
Matthew Chamberlain is an American drummer, producer and sound engineer. He is currently based in Los Angeles, California.-Early life:...
, David Levita, Aaron Kaplan, Victor Indrizzo
Victor Indrizzo
Victor Indrizzo is an American session musician, primarily known for playing the drums, as well as a songwriter and producer.Indrizzo was born in Freeport, Long Island, New York...
, Chris Chaney
Chris Chaney
Chris Chaney is a rock bass player who has performed with artists including Jane's Addiction, Alanis Morissette, Slash, and many others. He was the bass player in the third incarnation of Jane's Addiction and a member of Morissette's touring and recording band for seven years...
, Davey Chegwidden and DJ Cheapshot
DJ Cheapshot
DJ Cheapshot is the DJ of the hip hop ensemble Styles of Beyond, Get Busy Committee, and Fort Minor. He is also associated with the Demigodz and the Get Busy Committee, as well as being the founder of SpyTech Records, which is located in Reseda, California, and the Cheapshot's bar, which is...
to develop the music. Major contributions were provided by Mark on keyboard, McCready and Levita on guitar, Chaney and Lessard on bass, Indrizzo on drums and DJ Cheapshot on turntables.
Lennertz recorded the soundtrack at The Village
The Village (studio)
The Village is a famous recording studio in Los Angeles, California.Since the 1960s, The Village has been the home to recordings by artists such as Aerosmith, The Allman Brothers, The Beach Boys, Mariah Carey, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Alice Cooper, Elvis Costello, The Doors, Bob...
recording studio in West Los Angeles and Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. Lennertz attempted to remain "authentic" to the characters' progression from average worker to calculated killer. To achieve this aim, he decided against recording digitally, instead recording the tracks on two-inch analog tape
Magnetic tape sound recording
The use of magnetic tape for sound recording originated around 1930. Magnetizable tape revolutionized both the radio broadcast and music recording industries. It did this by giving artists and producers the power to record and re-record audio with minimal loss in quality as well as edit and...
, intending each musical cue to sound as if it was emanating from a vinyl record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. He explained, "The idea was to put together a band that would record the score together the same way that they would make an album. It isn't over-produced or shiny and digital in any way. It's brash, noisy, and full of bravado and swagger. I knew that if we could harness some of this sonic magic in the score, then the toughness and confidence of the music would play against Bateman, Sudeikis, and Charlie Day to really emphasize and elevate the humor in the situations that transpire." Lennertz continued, "We tracked through tape before Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
to get that fat sound, and made every choice based on feel rather than perfection. We even used the same Wurlitzer
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, was an American company that produced stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electronic organs, electric pianos and jukeboxes....
that Money Mark played on Beck's classic ‘Where It's At
Where It's At
"Where It's At" is the first single from Beck's 1996 album, Odelay. Beck wrote the song in 1995. He premiered it at Lollapalooza 1995, in a version very similar to its incarnation on Odelay...
’. At the end of the day, Seth [Gordon] and I wanted to produce a score that is as irreverent and full of attitude as the movie itself. I think we did it...and most of all, everyone had a blast in the process."
Horrible Bosses: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released in physical and digital formats on July 5, 2011, by WaterTower Music. The soundtrack consists of 33 tracks with a runtime of 63 minutes.
Release
The world premiere of Horrible Bosses took place on June 30, 2011 at Grauman's Chinese TheatreGrauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theater at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922...
in Hollywood, California.
Box office
Horrible Bosses has earned $117,538,559 (56.1%) in the United States and Canada, and a further $92,100,000 (43.9%) elsewhere, for a worldwide box-office gross of $209,638,559 since release.United States and Canada
Horrible Bosses was released on July 8, 2011 in the United States and Canada across 3,040 theaters. It grossed $9.9M on the first day, giving it the second largest opening gross for an original R-rated comedy of the summer, behind Bad Teacher
Bad Teacher
Bad Teacher is a 2011 comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan based on a screenplay by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, and Jason Segel...
($12.2M). For the opening weekend, the film took in a total of $28,302,165, an average of $9,310 per theater, making it the number two film for the weekend, behind Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($47.1M), the second highest-grossing opening weekend for an original R-rated comedy, again behind Bad Teacher ($31.6M), and the highest-grossing opening weekend ever for a dark/black comedy film, overtaking the 2004 The Stepford Wives
The Stepford Wives (2004 film)
The Stepford Wives is a 2004 American science fiction film. The film is a remake of the 1975 film of the same name; both films are based on the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives...
($21.4M). The opening weekend audience was 51% male, and 64% of the audience were over 25 years of age. The second weekend (15–17 July) saw a further 94 theaters added, for a total of 3,134. Box office revenue dropped by a "respectable" 38%, taking $17.6M for a total gross of $60M in ten days. The film ranked third for the weekend. It remained in the top five films during its third week, dropping 33% and leaving thirty theaters from the previous weekend, to take in $11.9M for a gross of $82.6M in 17 days. On July 28, 2011, with $87.6M after 20 days, Horrible Bosses surpassed The War of the Roses
The War of the Roses (film)
The War of the Roses is a 1989 American comedy film based upon the 1981 novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler. It is a black comedy about a wealthy couple with a seemingly perfect marriage. When their marriage begins to fall apart, material possessions become the center of an outrageous and...
($86.8M) to become the highest grossing dark/black comedy film in unadjusted dollars.
Markets elsewhere
Horrible Bosses was released on July 7, 2011, in the United Arab Emirates ($258,108), and on July 8 in Estonia ($24,471), Latvia ($15,750), Lebanon ($36,316) and Lithuania ($13,676), grossing $348,321 for the opening weekend and accruing a total of $855,009 in the first 17 days. On the weekend of July 21–24, the film opened in the United Kingdom ($3,386,876), Greece ($367,845), Israel ($200,372), South Africa ($193,632), Norway ($109,252) and East Africa ($7,324).
Critical reception
The film received generally positive reviews, attaining a 69% aggregate approval rating based on 194 reviews on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, or an average rating of 6.2 out of 10. According to the website, the critical consensus is, "It's nasty, uneven, and far from original, but thanks to a smartly assembled cast that makes the most of a solid premise, Horrible Bosses works." Review aggregate Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave it a score of 57 out of 100, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 40 reviews.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film three and a half stars out of four, calling it "well-cast" and commending it for playing to each actor's strengths. Ebert gave particular praise to Spacey, labeling him "superb", and Aniston, judging her performance to be a "surprise" and a return to form, stating "she has acute comic timing and hilariously enacts alarming sexual hungers". Ebert called Horrible Bosses "cheerful and wicked". Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
reacted positively, calling the film "a bouncy, well-built, delightfully nasty tale of resentment, desperation, and amoral revenge" and complimented the casting of the protagonists and antagonists. The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
s Nathan Rabin
Nathan Rabin
Nathan Rabin is an American film and music critic. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Rabin was the first head writer for The A.V. Club, a position he continues to hold today....
also praised the cast, stating that the picture "succeeds almost entirely on the chemistry of its three leads, who remain likeable even while resorting to homicide", adding the "acting more than compensates for the film's other failings." Rabin singled out Day's performance as "a potent illustration of how a brilliant character actor with a spark of madness can elevate a ramshackle lowbrow farce into a solid mainstream comedy through sheer force of charisma." Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net credited director Seth Gordon with having assembled "the perfect cast", claiming "the six leads kill in every scene", but echoed Nathan Rabin's sentiments that Day is the "real standout". Douglas summarized the picture as "dark fun that works better than expected due to a well-developed script, an impeccable cast and a director who knows how to put the two together". A. O. Scott
A. O. Scott
Anthony Oliver Scott, known as A. O. Scott , is an American journalist and critic. He is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with Manohla Dargis.-Background and education:...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
stated "the timing of the cast...is impeccable" and appreciated that the script did not attempt "to cut its coarseness with a hypocritical dose of sweetness or respectability". The review concluded that "in the ways that count and even when it shouldn’t, Horrible Bosses works."
USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
s Scott Bowles awarded the film three out of four stars, labeling it a "surprising comedy that rivals Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids (2011 film)
Bridesmaids is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, and Clayton Townsend. The plot centers on Annie ....
as the funniest film of the summer, if not the year." Bowles added that "the characters are so likable", giving particular credit to Sudeikis though also adding praise for the performances of Bateman and Day. The dialog was also lauded by Bowles, which commented that "Seth Gordon has a deft touch with water-cooler talk—even when the water cooler might be spiked with poison." Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
of indieWire
IndieWire
indieWIRE is a daily news site for the independent film community. It covers indie, documentary and foreign language films, as well industry news, film festival reports, filmmaker interviews and movie reviews...
considered Day to have had the "breakout role" and offered praise to the performances of the cast, but lamented the lack of screen time for Farrell's character. Maltin concluded "the movie has just enough raunchiness to identify it as a 2011 comedy, just enough cleverness to admire, and just the right camaraderie among its three male stars, which turns out to be the movie’s greatest strength." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
gave kudos to the "killer cast", with specific credit given to Bateman and Day, but was critical of the movie, stating "it wussies out on a sharp premise" and that it is a "hit-and-miss farce that leaves you wishing it was funnier than it is" The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Philip French called Horrible Bosses "a lumbering, misogynistic affair", but admitted "I laughed frequently, probably to the detriment of my self-respect." Nicholas Barber of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
gave a positive review, complimenting Gordon for not allowing the actors' improvisation to be detrimental to the pacing, but felt the movie was not as "dark" as its premise required, saying "what edginess the film does have comes instead from the inordinate quantity of swearing, plus a smattering of homophobia and misogyny."
Salon
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
s Andrew O'Hehir offered a mixed response, characterizing the film as a "lot funnier in theory than in practice, but it won't ruin your Saturday night". Salon appreciated the "effortless comic chemistry" between Sudeikis, Bateman and Day and singled out Bateman, Aniston and Spacey for their performances. O'Hehir was however critical of the perceived homophobia, sexism and racism. The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
s Kirk Honeycutt responded negatively, stating the jokes failed to be funny, stating "Seth Gordon shows no flair for turning the absurdities and cartoonish characters in the script...into anything more than a collection of moments in search of laughs." Karina Longworth of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
was critical of the premise, which she felt lacked any legitimate "rage" against the characters' bosses, stating "...there's every sign that, even without these particular emasculators, Dale, Kurt and Nick would still be—for lack of a better word—total pussies." Longworth felt that the humor was "rarely actually laugh-out-loud funny, and never truly dark or daring". She particular criticized the all-white, male protagonists and a plot she deemed racist and filled with "stereotypes". Justin Chang of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
praised the performance of the ensemble cast, but considered the plot to be "predictably moronic, vulgar and juvenile". Chang echoed the sentiments of The Village Voice in lamenting that the film failed to pursue the premise to "darker, more daring territory" and faulted it for falling back on "over-the-top comic exaggeration".
Home media
On July 26, 2011, FX obtained the rights to the network premiere of the film.Horrible Bosses was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
in the United States on October 11, 2011. The DVD contains the theatrical cut of the film and deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s. The Blu-ray Disc edition contains the Blu-ray Disc, the DVD and a digital version of the film in a single pack. The Blu-ray Disc version is an unrated, extended cut (the "Totally Inappropriate Edition") with a runtime of 106 minutes compared to the theatrical 98 minutes. The Blu-ray Disc contains deleted scenes and four featurettes: My Least Favorite Career, Surviving a Horrible Boss, Being Mean Is So Much Fun, and The Making of the Horrible Bosses Soundtrack. Both the theatrical and extended cuts are presented in the film's original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 with DTS-HD Master Audio
DTS-HD Master Audio
DTS-HD Master Audio is a lossless audio codec created by Digital Theater System. It was previously known as DTS++. It is an extension of DTS which, when played back on devices which do not support the Master Audio or High Resolution extension, degrades to a "core" track which is lossy. DTS-HD...
sound. Beginning with the Blu-ray Disc release of Horrible Bosses and Green Lantern
Green Lantern (film)
Green Lantern is a 2011 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett and Tim Robbins, with Martin Campbell directing a script by Greg Berlanti and comic book writers Michael Green and Marc...
, Warner Bros. included a code that allows the owner to access a version of the film via UltraViolet, a cloud storage
Cloud storage
Cloud storage is a model of networked online storage where data is stored on virtualized pools of storage which are generally hosted by third parties. Hosting companies operate large data centers; and people who require their data to be hosted buy or lease storage capacity from them and use it for...
service which allows streaming or downloading to a variety of devices.