Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis and Charlie Day plot to permanently dispose of their, let’s say, unpleasant supervisors, in the feature debut of King of Kong’s Seth Gordon. The manipulative tyrant (Kevin Spacey) and the vengeful cokehead (Colin Farrell) are one thing, but Day’s saddled with an even worse fate: a hot boss (Jennifer Aniston) who won’t stop trying to jump his bones.
Sexual panic figures heavily in the script — three writers, sitcom vets all — and not just Day’s screeching, either. As they proceed with a plan to criss-cross murders (both Strangers on a Train and Throw Momma From the Train are duly referenced), Sudekis and Bateman quarrel over who would be the juiciest rape-bait in prison, and that’s after they’ve accidentally hired a “wetwork” specialist (Ioan Gruffudd) with a flair for man-on-man urination.
In short, there’s a lot of low-stakes humor, occasionally brought off by a mostly ingratiating cast, which also includes Jaime Foxx and Donald Sutherland in fleeting roles. Day, however, brings the film to a shuddering halt every time he leaps into his falsetto shtick, which is roughly every 90 seconds. It’s hard to remember the last time an actor so over-estimated his onscreen charisma.
