HORRIBLE BOSSES: Jennifer Aniston in good film shocker!

Yes, you read the headline correctly. Jennifer Aniston has - finally - appeared in a good film. Following countless bland, interchangeable humour-free, eminently unwatchable rom-coms (see 'Just Go With It', 'The Switch', 'The Bounty Hunter', 'He's Just Not That Into You' etc etc) she has pulled her big-screen career out of the crapper with HORRIBLE BOSSES.

And just how has she managed this miraculous feat?
It's simple - she's not the star and this is not a rom-com.
HORRIBLE BOSSES is an adult comedy in the vein of 'The Hangover' and 'Bridesmaids' and perhaps what's most surprising about it (other than Aniston's presence) is that it doesn't bear the fingerprints of current Hollywood comedy god Judd Apatow. I double-checked the credits twice and his name doesn't appear anywhere. Director Seth Gordon ('Four Christmases'), 3 screenplay writers and 7 producers (including the wonderfully named Michael Disco) put the project together without any help from the man who's become a one man comedy industry.
Despite the presence of some big names above the title (Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey) this is very much an ensemble movie. The stars may pull in the audience but its the lesser known Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis who do the bulk of the heavy lifting and they are a delight to watch in action. SNL's Sudeikis, Day from tv's 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' and the veteran Bateman are a team with genuine chemistry, each getting their own moment in the spotlight but none of them overshadowing the others.

They play three friends each suffering at the hands of a horrible boss. Bateman is bullied on a daily basis by the egotistical, sadistic Spacey, Sudeikis is watching the company he helped build up being dismantled by a coke-snorting, hooker-hiring Farrell, and Day is being sexually harrassed by the entirely inappropriate Aniston (not too much sympathy there!).. Unwilling to take the constant humilation any longer the three hatch a plan to murder their tormentors but, being law-abiding, mild mannered middle-class men, they're not exactly pro's when it comes to committing the ultimate crime.
The unintended consequences of their attempts to carry out their hare-brained scheme are a joy to behold, replete with the stupidity, ridiculousness, humiliations and occasional nastiness that we've come to expect from this particular comedic genre.
This is not high-brow stuff but it is laugh out loud funny and perfect for a Saturday evening in front of the big screen tv with beer and snacks. I just pray that director Gordon et al don't let this praise go to their heads and make a sequel. Let's not inflict another 'The Hangover 2' on the world.