In the real world, those of us with horrible bosses usually have no choice but to endure the misery (while discreetly seeking out new jobs).
But movies are about escape, and sitting back to watch a character get even with a sleazy, sadistic or downright evil employer is escapism at its finest. Case in point: The enormous box office success of the 2011 comedy, ‘Horrible Bosses.’
In the spirit of the 2014 sequel ‘Horrible Bosses 2,’ here’s how to settle the score with even the most heartless of head honchos, based on some favorite movie scenes. (Note: Employing any of these methods at your own workplace is probably unwise.)
1. Bumble Through a Half-Baked Revenge Scheme
‘Horrible Bosses’ and similar movies rely on the comedy of watching ordinary Joes and Janes get so fed up with their superiors that they resort to criminal acts – a decision that will inevitably run into a few snags.
Of course the ‘Horrible Bosses’ protagonists literally plot murder, which is as dark as it gets. In Mike Judge’s ‘Office Space’ (1999), the put-upon employees merely decide to skim money from their company, a fraction of a penny at a time. Their scheme is less an act of revenge against their smarmy boss, Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole), than it is a ticket out of corporate life. But Lumbergh is still pretty darn smarmy:
These ill-advised protagonists are joined by Frank Whaley’s high-strung Hollywood assistant in ‘Swimming with Sharks’ (1994), who tortures the abusive mogul he works for (future “Horrible Boss” Kevin Spacey) with unexpected results, as well as by the ladies of ‘9 to 5’ (1980), who seek to overthrow their “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” of a boss (Dabney Coleman) by putting him under house arrest.
2. Go Rogue and Bring Them to Justice
Leaving comedies aside, there’s an entire subgenre of action thriller in which the protagonist – typically some sort of assassin or spy – has been betrayed by his or her higher-ups, and thus goes on a mission to take them down, one at a time. The entire Bourne franchise is fueled by this kind of mission.
While often the hero (or heroine) of these movies is up against a vast government conspiracy (see also: 2014’s ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’), both volumes of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’ put an underworld spin on the theme. In this case, a contract killer known as the Bride (Uma Thurman) seeks vengeance on her old boss Bill (David Carradine), who attempted to murder her years earlier. If any of her former cronies get in her way, then so be it.
3. Just Walk Out That Door
Perhaps the most tantalizing stick-it-to-the-man fantasy is the one that seems the most within reach of the average worker: Giving that horrible boss the perfect kiss-off line, then quitting your job with your dignity regained. (Applauding coworkers optional.) If only we all had the courage to do this, the world would be a little more like Hollywood movies.
One of the more entertaining “I quit” scenes comes from the criminally-underrated ‘Joe vs. the Volcano’ (1990), in which Joe (Tom Hanks) finally gathers up the nerve to tell his wretched employer (Dan Hedaya) everything he hates about his job, right down to the fluorescent lights and the undrinkable coffee:
Naturally, saying goodbye to your no-good boss is even sweeter when you know you’ve got an even better job lined up. Still, it takes confidence to swallow that false modesty and rub your boss’s nose in it a little. Watch how Renée Zellweger does it in ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ (2001).
It’s only fitting that we should close with another ‘Horrible Bosses’ star. Back to ‘Office Space’ we go as Jennifer Aniston quits her nowhere restaurant job with considerable flair:
