Horrible Bosses (2011)
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Three friends decide to take drastic measures to eliminate their abusive and overbearing bosses.
The story
Nick, Dale, and Kurt are three friends working in Riverside, California, who are deeply dissatisfied with their respective employers. Nick is manipulated by a sadistic boss, Dale is subjected to sexual harassment by his boss, and Kurt's kind employer is replaced by an incompetent, drug-addicted successor. After a night of drinking, the trio jokingly suggests that their lives would be better if their bosses were no longer alive. They eventually decide to act on this impulse and seek out a 'murder consultant' to help them orchestrate the deaths of their superiors while making the incidents appear to be accidents.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Nick, Dale, and Kurt are three friends in Riverside, California, who decide to murder their abusive bosses: Dave Harken, Dr. Julia Harris, and Bobby Pellit. They hire Dean 'Motherfucker' Jones as a consultant to help them stage the deaths as accidents. During the process, complications arise: Kurt has a sexual encounter with Julia, and Harken discovers a phone belonging to his son, leading him to believe his wife is having an affair. Harken eventually finds and kills Bobby, a fact Nick witnesses. The trio is later questioned by police and must work with Jones to get Harken to confess to the murder. During a confrontation at Harken's birthday party, the trio is caught by Harken, who pursues them in a car. After a high-speed chase and a series of accidents, Harken is caught by police and sentenced to prison after his confession is played. The friends are cleared of charges; Nick is promoted, Kurt remains in his position, and Dale successfully blackmails Julia into ending her harassment.
- First release year
- 2011
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Seth Gordon
- Writers
- Michael Markowitz · screenplay; John Francis Daley · screenplay; Jonathan Goldstein · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Jason Bateman · Nick Hendricks; Charlie Day · Dale Arbus; Jason Sudeikis · Kurt Buckman; Jennifer Aniston · Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S.; Colin Farrell · Bobby Pellit; Kevin Spacey · Dave Harken; Donald Sutherland · Jack Pellit; Jamie Foxx · Dean 'Motherfucker' Jones
- Genres
- crime; black comedy
- Themes
- revenge; workplace dynamics
- Tone and mood
- comedy; dark
- Setting
- Riverside, California
- Premise and plot tags
- buddy comedy; crime comedy
- Franchise connections
- Horrible Bosses
- Content notes
- R-rated
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, with critics praising the ensemble cast's chemistry and performances while some criticized the plot's lack of depth or its inclusion of certain stereotypes.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 69% · scale: percentage · review count: 220; Metacritic · score: 57 · scale: 100 · review count: 40
- Awards and nominations
- Best Supporting Actor · Satellite Award · 2012 · Nomination; Comedy Actor · Comedy Awards · 2012 · Nomination; Comedy Actress · Comedy Awards · 2012 · Nomination; Comedy Film · Comedy Awards · 2012 · Nomination; Best On-Screen Dirt Bag · MTV Movie Awards · 2012 · Win; Best On-Screen Transformation · MTV Movie Awards · 2012 · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film's production took six years of pre-production.; The character 'Dean Motherfucker Jones' originally had a more vulgar name.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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