The premise is that these three guys have (you guessed it!) Horrible Bosses, who they want killed to make their lives better. Dark. But what made me extremely uncomfortable in the previews is Jennifer Aniston's character (a dentist) who is MAJORLY sexually harassing and assaulting Charlie Day (her dental hygienist, Dale.) The other main characters, Jason Sudeikis and Jason Bateman, think that what Dale is going through is no big deal and he should actually enjoy it. *Eye roll* Get it? Guys can't be raped. Never heard that before.
Anyway, I went into it thinking that this offensiveness would translate into me not enjoying the movie. However, I was pleasantly surprised.
I laughed. A lot--let it never be said that this feminist is humorless!
Make no mistake, it is offensive. The gender situation of the movie overall is gruesome. The women are woefully underdeveloped. What we do see of them is silly, aggressive, or immoral. The depiction of race is just as grim. And the Aniston/Day story line is absolutely cringe worthy...but for some reason I left the theater feeling pretty positive about the experience in general. Maybe it's because Dale emphatically insisted that what was happening to him was wrong, despite anyone's doubts. Or maybe it's because I was able to turn my brain off for a couple of hours.
I guess I just agree with the analysis over at Salon that basically...Horrible Bosses is "surprisingly likable." And I didn't want to like it.
The fact that you were prepared to hate it and had your expectations set low you probably liked it because of that.
ReplyDeleteNow if you went into this with an open mind and a willingness to not prejudge, you probably would've hated it. Funny how expectations work.
Possibly...but I went in even kind of *wanting* to hate it.
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