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Parents' Guide to

Horrible Bosses

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

All-star comedy is pretty raunchy -- and hilarious.

Movie R 2011 100 minutes
Horrible Bosses Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 17+

Based on 22 parent reviews

sam S.
sam S. Parent of 18+-year-old
March 13, 2023
age 12+

12+ if your mature

Alright so you may be shocked by my age rating of 12+ but hear me out. yes there may be an almost constant stream of curses, its no more than a middle schooler would hear in a day of school if not 2-3 hours of it, and the violence is PG-PG-13 level violence. The main concern for parent should be the sexual talk, inuendo, but worst of all descriptions, the talk of sex would be an easy 16 and up because of how graphic it is, but middle schoolers hear that kind of talk almost every day, but keep in mind I would never watch the movie with my parents EVER!!! due to the graphic sexual talk, descriptions and the weird dentist lady that is always trying to sudce one of the main characters ,but this is a 12+ in my oppinion.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
2 people found this helpful.
p
p Adult
August 19, 2020
age 18+

non stop launguage

so good

This title has:

Too much swearing
See all 22 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Hoping for an elusive promotion, Nick (Jason Bateman) is forced to suck up to a maniacal CEO (Kevin Spacey); Dale (Charlie Day) is engaged to be married but works for a sexy, sexually aggressive dentist (Jennifer Aniston); and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) finds his dream job at a chemical plant threatened when the boss' cocaine-addicted son (Colin Farrell) unexpectedly takes charge. After work, the three friends share their woes and come up with the idea to murder all three HORRIBLE BOSSES. They hire a "consultant" (Jamie Foxx) and begin preparing for their homicidal plan. But it's not long before things go horribly, hilariously awry.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (22 ):
Kids say (59 ):

Director Seth Gordon (The King of Kong, Four Christmases) has the good sense to simply step aside here, letting his cast goof around and bounce off of one another like so many rubber balls. Each character finds a nice niche and runs with it: Bateman plays the straight man, Day is the "dumb one," and Sudeikis finds a nice middle ground. The villains are clearly having a terrific time, too; Aniston is at the top of her game, and Spacey is on familiar territory. Only Farrell seems to be trying something new here with broad comedy, and it fits him well (it appears, judging from the bloopers at the end, that some of his scenes didn't make the final cut, which is a shame).

Especially cathartic for today's luckless job-seekers, the movie's humor is highly raunchy, but it has enough inventively playful moments between characters to make the movie memorable for a long time to come. Expect many genuine belly laughs, rather than just the usual surprised chuckles.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether the main characters are sympathetic and/or admirable people. What makes them different from their bosses?

  • At least two characters think about sex most of the time and sleep with more than one partner. Is this a healthy outlet for them? What could they do differently?

  • Do the horrible bosses qualify as bullies? What are some more positive ways to handle bullies?

Movie Details

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