Written by Sarah
Everyone is going to want to talk about Jennifer Aniston and her daring new career as a supporting actress in mediocre comedies, but I don’t care about that. That’s what Aniston has been all along, she just insisted on trying to be a leading lady, which she isn’t. Aniston is a TV lead/supporting movie actress. Know thy place.
What I do want to talk about is Colin Farrell’s comeback. When Farrell came onto the scene in 2000 with Tigerland, a lot of people thought he’d be that once-in-a-generation star, the next Brad Pitt or Harrison Ford, etc. But Farrell’s loveable bad-boy ways became destructive bad-boy ways, and though Farrell never stopped working, his career took a turn toward the gutter over the last several years (exception—In Bruges, which reminded everyone of why Farrell was special in the first place). But then in 2009, he had a solid cameo in Crazy Heart, and a leading role in the sweet, if mediocre, Ondine. It suddenly seemed like Farrell was back on track.
And he is. Since 2009 he’s been working in ensembles (The Way Back) or on smaller projects with quality people (London Boulevard with Keira Knightley). Horrible Bosses puts him back into an ensemble, starring opposite Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis (so overrated), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day, Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx. And it’s a comedy! I’m trying to think of when I’ve ever seen Farrell in a comedy and all I can come up with is SWAT, which wasn’t funny on purpose. This is a great move for Farrell. This is about diversity, the willingness to look dumb, and the kind of ego-crushing styling that is only funnier when applied to outrageously handsome people—the sorts of things that let people know you’ve checked your ego at the door and are serious about rebuilding your career. Next up is a remake of Fright Night (horror! This really is a whole new Farrell), and the reboot of Total Recall, which is kind of scary since that’s the sort of movie that stalled out his career previously.
As for Horrible Bosses—yeah, I’m down. It looks funny. Not over the top crazy funny, but funny enough. Bateman particularly is excellent in this kind of stuff. It’s basically just Strangers on a Train but with laughs. Based on the trailer, seems like that’s working out fairly well for them.
