Horrible Bosses

My View:  Horrible Bosses:  Three buddies (played by Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis) meet after work to exchange stories about their horrible bosses.  Bateman is berated by his boss (played by Kevin Spacey) for being two minutes late…at 6 am. Day, a luckless dental assistant, is constantly sexually harassed by his boss, a female dentist (played by Jennifer Aniston).  And the company that Sudeikis works for is being taken over by a coked-out egomaniac (played by Colin Farrell).  Due to the economy and other factors, each buddy feels they are stuck in their job and, after a night of drinking, each decides the only way out of their miserable employment situation is to kill their boss by hiring a hit man.  This film is one of a long string of recent comedies that consistently decides to go with the cheap, raunchy laugh. Jamie Foxx is especially wasted in his role as the not-too-bright hit man, and I continued to want to see more of the boss characters (especially the comb over, karate punching Colin Farrell) and less of the adventures of the buddies.  My Rating:  Cable   Horrible Bosses Website

The 50 (a movie from my best/worst film of all time)

#39 Worst Film: 

Mannequin 2: On The Move  (1991)  The original Mannequin film was a surprise hit in 1987 with Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall and was about a mannequin that came to life and fell in love with a department store worker  So, Hollywood decides to do a sequel of this film, but instead of coming up with an original storyline,  producers use almost the same plot from the first movie.  This time, Kristy Swanson is the girl under a curse turned into a store mannequin and who only comes to life when a young department store worker removes a cursed necklace.  Apparently, the only way writers and producers could figure a way to call this a sequel instead of what it is, a remake, was by bringing back the very unfunny, gay window dresser, Hollywood Montrose (played so over-the-top by Meshach Taylor).  In this film, Meshach seems to be almost apologizing for some of the lines he delivers.  To me, the promo person who wrote the tagline for this movie knew it wasn’t worth making an effort: “A lively comedy about a living doll.”   Mannequin 2 Info  

Forgotten Film:  Night Shift  (1982) Henry Winkler, in this Ron Howard-directed film, is a mild mannered man who takes a night shift position at the city morgue and decides this slow, quiet job will be perfect for his recovery from his past pressure filled world of being a stockbroker. Winkler’s life is changed when he meets his next door neighbor, a cute prostitute, played by Shelly Long and a fun-loving, get-rich-quick screaming co-worker, played by Michael Keaton.  Keaton makes this film so enertaining to watch as his non-stop moneymaking schemes get more creative over time.  Winkler does a good job as the man trying to just do the right thing and gets involved with Keaton and Long against his better judgment.  Long is very charming as the hooker with a heart of gold who falls for Winkler.  This is the film that revealed to Hollywood that Howard could direct and that Keaton could be a star.   Night Shift Info

In Case You Missed it (A Film Just Released on DVD):

The Lincoln Lawyer  (2011)  I reviewed this film in March.  I liked Matthew McConaughey’s performance as a defense lawyer who works out of the back seat of a Lincoln Town car.  What I didn’t like was the plot, which, I felt, was too easy to figure out, and the concept seemed straight out of a 1970’s T.V. lawyer show (we could call it Matthew to the Defense).  My Rating:  Cable   The Lincoln Lawyer Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I‘ve Only Seen in Trailers but Just Looks like a Bad Idea):  Final Destination 5   Do we really need another lesson that you can’t cheat death?  This time, a group of people escape a collapsing bridge only to die via Lasik surgery.  No, really…I can’t make this stuff up!  Death by Lasik.   Final Destination 5 Website

Weird Credits:   In the credits of Horrible Bosses:  Mr. Foxx’s Hair Dresser

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Moneyball  Based on a true story, Brad Pitt plays Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, who revolutionizes how baseball teams are put together.  Robin Wright, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jonah Hill make up the rest of the cast, but the question will be, “Can Pitt draw enough of an audience to fill seats for a movie about what goes on behind the scenes of a baseball team?”   Moneyball Website

Until Next Time!