The Minority Report - "Horrible Bosses" (2011)

“I was looking at your boss. She makes herself a little snack. A popsicle. A banana. And finally, a hot dog. And eating them in that weird order—that's not a proper meal!”
Seeing the trailer of this movie for the first time, I thought it was a delightful spin on the typical ‘my boss is a jackass’ movie. Taking it to the next level, this group of likely idiots, each with their own horrible boss, is faced with a quandary: what to do about their terrible superiors? Watching this with friends was quite enjoyable, and I got to see it relatively early when it came out in my island. I expected quite a bit from this movie, as I usually possess quite a bit of apprehension when it comes to comedies, and I am happy to say that it didn’t disappoint.

The story centers around Nick Hendricks, Kurt Buckman, and Dale Arbus. At the start of the movie, we get a glimpse of their lives at work and of their bosses. Nick’s boss is a megalomaniac that pushes everyone to the edge while always seeming to get his own way. While Nick was convinced that he was going to get a promotion for always being on time and working his butt off, his boss was actually never going to give him the promotion he so desired. Instead, he is told that if he quits, his boss will ruin his future careers by lying about everything Nick has ever done. Kurt’s boss was the nicest man ever, according to him. One day, though, he died in a car accident. This left his only son in charge of running the business. Too bad he was a cocaine sniffing, racist, sexist, crazy, overall terrible person to everyone except for prostitutes. Dale’s boss is a dentist who can’t help but sexually harass everyone she comes into contact with, but especially him. Even though he is engaged and in love, she won’t back off and goes so far as to threaten to out the things she has done to him to his fiancée if he quits. Together at a bar, they all share stories about their working lives to a choir of sympathy (except for Dale, whom both say shouldn’t be complaining). Eventually, a plan hatches out of a joke—kill each other’s bosses. What ensues is both a hilarious and enjoyable journey with a group of misfits that can’t handle the easiest of tasks.

With an air of “The Hangover,” the movie was undoubtedly funny. The situations they are put through at work resonate with anyone that has ever held a job, and make you feel enraged at their treatment. These characters are nice, honest people that decided to do something about their predicament. The way the direction and cinematography of the movie flows is interesting, though I can’t put my finger on where it comes from or why it feels different. The sure thing one can expect from a movie like this is that there is a reflection of each of us in these characters. You can see yourself in one of them in at least one scene. The humor also feels honest and realistic. They each occasionally talk over and expand each other’s comments in a way that we do every day. This is what I believe can make or break a comedy. It can be funny, but if it doesn’t feel honest, it loses its power. This movie is like watching paint dry in the many offices around the world where horrible bosses preside.


By Kulguy

The Caucasian Report - "The Mask" (1994)

~The Average Joe and the Coco Bongo~
This movie has been one of my favorites since I was a little kid, and it is one of the reasons Jim Carrey is my favorite actor. I remember whenever my parents said it was my turn to choose the movie we were going to rent, I would chose this one every time. Ok, maybe not every time, but we definitely rented it a hefty number of times. If you are ever in the mood for over-the-top, slapstick humor, this is the movie you should watch.

The movie is about the stereotypical “nice guy,” Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey), that gets pushed around by just about everyone in his life including his boss, landlord, and even his best friend. He is also a “hopeless romantic.” He is the guy that will go out of his way to get concert tickets for himself and his date, and give up his ticket when she decides she does not want to let her best friend sit home alone. But then, he meets and quickly develops feelings for Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz), a singer at a new club called the Coco Bongo. One night, when his car breaks down on a bridge, he thinks he sees a person in the water and rushes to help. When he finds out it was just a pile of debris, he comes across a mask that looks like it belongs to some ancient Amazonian civilization. There is no way he is prepared for what happens when he puts the mask on, and what follows is an adventure that feels like it came straight out of a Looney Tunes cartoon—complete with popping eyeballs and tornado locomotion.

Jim Carrey was definitely born to play this role. I can’t imagine this movie with anyone else playing the lead because Carrey’s level of wackiness, hardly rivaled by anyone, is needed for achieving “the mask’s” character. The way Carrey is able to transform from an average Joe into a “love-crazy wild man” is what makes this movie so entertaining. You can hardly believe that Stanley and “the mask” are the same person. The film offers everything from dance numbers to dream sequences, and even action scenes. The best scene of the movie is when “the mask” charms an entire police force into a conga line while impersonating Cuban Pete. This movie is like watching the paint that makes up the lettering on Wile E. Coyote’s “Help!” sign dry before he plummets off a cliff.


By WhiteChick