Why So Blu?

Horrible Bosses (Blu-ray Review)

We have all had our share of “horrible bosses” at one point or another during our career, haven’t we?   Well I guess I should probably be addressing the 30-something year old crowd like myself, but I truly think this topic transcends the ages, if you ask me.  Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about.   My word is the gospel around here.  You got it?   LOL.   Don’t you hate pompous people?   Good!   This is all part of my master plan.   I’m warming you up for today’s topic of conversation.  So let’s start this review all over again.   Here we go!   Good day ladies and gentlemen.  Today we are gathered to talk about the all too familiar topic of “horrible bosses,” oops…I mean the film Horrible Bosses.  And when I mention Horrible Bosses, I should clarify that I’m talking about New Line Cinema’s October 11th Blu-ray release of Horrible Bosses: Totally Inappropriate Edition.   Who loves the sound of that?

Film  

Horrible Bosses was written by scribes John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein and directed by Seth Gordon.  The comedy film stars the always hilarious Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey, a bald Colin Farrell (LOL), Jamie Foxx (you cannot help but laugh at his name in this movie) and sexy vixen, complete with brunette hair, Miss Jennifer Aniston.  Ironically, unlike most women, Aniston continues to get hotter as she ages, in my opinion.  Oh no!   Does that mean I’m getting older or are my tastes just improving?  Great!  That’s something else for me to worry about and obsess over now in life.

Upon first glance, when I was introduced to the film with its theatrical trailer, I thought to myself, not another Office Space ripoff!   Well thankfully, like more often than not, I couldn’t have been more dead wrong with my original conception/opinion of the feature.  The flick’s plot is actually pretty simple, and reluctantly, I guess you can say a little Office Space-like, but I digress.  Here it is.  Are you ready for this shocker?  Three friends (Bateman, Day and Sudeikis) conspire to murder their “horrible” and disrespectful bosses (Spacey, Aniston and Farrell).  Why?  That’s also very simple.  Their “horrible bosses” are standing in the way of their happiness.  However, it should also be noted that each of the three friends/conspirers have their own unique situations as to why they want to murder their bosses.  And those my friends…are hilarious!   Managers around the world are probably cringing right now, huh?

So the main focus with a comedy film I measure in terms of success is whether or not I enjoyed it and did it make me laugh.  Thankfully, the film awarded me with both.  Unlike fellow reviewer Gerard Iribe, I like to give comedy films a chance in the theater.  I think you laugh harder when a hundred people laughing as opposed to being secluded in a man cave by yourself surround you.  Did I really say that?  Heck, I’m even comfortable with admitting the fact that I actually liked this feature more so than I did The Hangover: Part II, and for me, that’s saying a lot given my love for that franchise and the associated characters.  Perhaps, what did it for me was the chemistry of the ensemble cast.  There was not one character that stood out (besides Aniston’s breasts) above the rest, but instead, every single player formed a cohesive team that homered home the laughs with their crazy non-verbal antics, their deliveries and ultimately, their comedic timing.  It had the snail pace of Office Space, but it came at you way more rude and crude with a freshness our current workforce is accustomed to in this modern day and age of sexual harassment, office affairs and whatnot.  You didn’t get that promotion?  Well, why not kill your boss!  I’m joking people.  Loosen up.  You’re going to need that sense of humor when you go see this one.  Don’t lose it now.

So here’s the lowdown.  Here’s all you need to know before I set you free to go forth and prosper.  Anniston plays the hot dentist who subjects her employee, Charlie Day, to all forms of sexual harassment.  That’s all I’m going to say about the situation, but hot damn, did it feel good seeing Jennifer play a slut.  Yes!  I just said that!   Kevin Spacey plays the monarchist boss who’s all over Jason Bateman’s character.  If you think you have it bad at work, you have to see what Jason’s character goes through.  The scrutiny is unbelievable!  Suddenly, all my work nightmares and woes didn’t seem so bad anymore.  And oh yeah, don’t piss Spacey’s character off either.  He has quite the temper.  You’ve been warned!  Colin Farrell plays the kind of character that…well…we have never seen him play before…ever…or at least I have not.  He is the boss of Jason Sudeikis’ character and I forgot to mention, he’s quite the cokehead too.  His character likes to partake in extracurricular activities that involve a certain kind of pizazz that the majority of us lack in life, at least I do.  And last but certainly not least there’s Jamie Foxx.  I won’t ruin the fun for you here.  He probably has one of the best names ever in a comedic caper.  That’s all I will say.  It’s all about the delivery of the lines folks.

So there you go.  In that last paragraph alone I gave you a total of four good reasons why you need to check Horrible Bosses on Blu-ray.  It still made me laugh the second time around so for that reason alone, it’s a winner in my book.   But don’t take my word for it, do it for the people.  Do it for all the people who go to work, slave to the grind and hate their jobs because of their bosses.  Support the masses.  I promise you.  Come Monday morning, you just might not feel so bad going into your current place of employment.  It’s all about perception folks.  It’s like seeing a third world country on a infomercial and suddenly realizing you don’t have it so bad while at the same time…laughing you’re MF a$$es off.  It’s my humble recommendation that you call your friends or that someone special in your life and treat everyone to a healthy dose of Horrible Bosses in your diet.  You can thank me later (I take both large and small bills)!

Video  

Warner Bros. brings the zany office comedy to the Blu-ray format with an above average MPEG-4 AVC video codec presented in a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1.  I say above average only because while it looks nice and swell with no immediate threats or degradations to the picture quality, there’s also nothing that really jumps out at you here in an intergalactic stellar way, if you know what I mean.  But here’s the deal…it’s a dark comedy ladies and gentlemen and the darker tone captured and rendered on your viewing screen is of director’s intent.  Don’t adjust your settings.  Deal with it!  In my opinion, it is only fitting.  The palette is mostly neutral in its tonal qualities with striking, but consistent contrast and fleshtones and the grain levels are minimal throughout under the direction of the dark, crushing and leading black levels.  Did that even make sense?  Ha!  Again…deal with it!  All in all, clarity is here, sharpness is delivered and no major mishaps are inherent to deter your positive viewing experience of this Blu-ray film.  Even if you hate your boss, you won’t hate this transfer.  You can take those words to the bank!  I guarantee it!

Audio  

Once again, I will use the word a-v-e-r-a-g-e here.  This is a comedy folks.  Did you really expect something utterly fantastic here?  It is what it is…really.  Comedies are almost always inherently front-end heavy. There’s really nothing different here.  Can you fault Warner for a lazy transfer?  No!  Absolutely not!  Again…it is what it is.  P.S. – You have no idea how much I hate saying/hearing that IIWII slogan, too.  Ugh!  The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track never really soars triumphantly, but it gets the job done and at the end of the day you will probably think the following to yourself.  That wasn’t “horrible.”  I know.  That was a terrible joke.  I’m sorry!  In all honesty, I like it.  For a comedy, all one really cares about is the witty dialogue…usually.  If that is the case (on a case-by-case basis), then I’m happy to report that the dialogue is clear and intelligible throughout.  What more can you ask for?  Ouch!  Stop throwing those proverbial rocks at me.  Every once in awhile you hear a few ripples from the rears and the subwoofer will come to life, but those moments are few and far between.  So with all that being formally declared, I hereby give this department the AVERAGE stamp of approval… (and a really good score) for a comedy film that is.  Any questions?

Special Features 

This is a tough one to score.   While there’s no audio commentary to be found anywhere on this 3-disc set (yep…you heard me right…3 discs), there are two different versions of the movie included.  So like the old saying goes, with the good news always comes the bad.   Not being a fan of audio commentaries, unless the film really interests me, I’m generally okay with this.   The rest of the Special Features are pretty quick and painless for the most part.  So what do you say we tackle them in greater detail below and get this review over with?

• Extended Cut Version and Theatrical Version (HD) – Yep, that’s right.  There are two different versions of the film housed within this three-disc set.   They are found on separate Blu-ray discs.  What an incredible value!   The Extended Cut Version clocks in at 106 minutes, while the Theatrical Version has a runtime of 98 minutes.

• My Least Favorite Career (HD, 5 min.) – The cast and director recall jobs, working scenarios and difficult bosses from their past.  Very Interesting!

• Surviving a Horrible Boss (HD, 7 min.) – Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day and director Seth Gordon discuss what makes a “horrible boss” and how to survive them.  This could be helpful information for you here, folks.

• Being Mean is So Much Fun (HD, 7 min.) – The three mean bosses, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Spacey, recall what it was like to get mean and dirty on the set.

• The Making of the Horrible Bosses Soundtrack (HD, 6 min.) – Composer a Christopher Lennertz and director Seth Gordon talk about their super band of musicians they brought together for this soundtrack.

• Deleted Scenes (HD, 10 min.) – Here are your typical selection of deleted scenes plus two alternate openings.

• UltraViolet Digital Copy (SD) – Watch your Digital Copy anywhere on computers, tablets, smartphones and even on Flixster.  Just an FYI…I have yet to get access to the site link that hosts this Digital Copy.  I’m not a fan of these UltraViolet Digital Copies.

• BD-Live Functionality

Final Thoughts 

You are probably wondering why there’s only an average score here for a movie I love so much.  Well, that’s because outside of the awesome pelicula housed on not one, but two Blu-ray discs here, everything else is pretty sub-par for the most part.  The audio, video and special features are adequate to get you by, but sometimes they also leave you wanting more.  You know what I mean?  However, I digress, you should definitely pick this set up.  It will be a warm and welcomed addition to your Blu-ray comedy collection.  Trust me!  I always tell the truth.  BTW…good journalists usually do!