Worst Professor Ever

Don’t worry, this won’t become a movie review site. But it’s what I like to do with my free time and frankly, comedy was my academic specialty…and I happen to know that the pop culture stuff gets more clicks than the academic stuff, so if you’re reading this I hardly think you should be putting on airs.

I didn’t get into Horrible Bosses when I tried yesterday. I love the Alamo Drafthouse, but it’s easy to forget that you’ve gotta buy your tickets in advance. No worries, though, that just meant I started my Sunday off right, surrounded by the kind of people who would see Horrible Bosses instead of going to church, while also drinking mimosas.

Our heroes, sort of.

I really liked the movie, but it really did give me flashbacks. Bad flashback: when Nick’s (Micheal Bateman) initial voiceover says “That’s the real secret to success: taking shit” and proceeds to outline the appeasement policy that is often promoted in academia — hard work eventually gets recognized, right? Right?! RIGHT?!?!? HAHAHA. The petty cruelty inflicted by Nick’s boss Harken (Kevin Spacey) was also familiar (and not just Swimming with Sharks familiar) though I’ll state for the record that none of my personal bosses ever acted this awful.

The good flashbacks: this movie is like 9 to 5 meets Office Space meets Pulp Fiction, in some very specific and deliberate ways. And with talented comic stars like Bateman, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day, and SNL‘s Jason Sudeikis, it’s tempting to say it couldn’t go wrong. It could, actually, if poorly written and edited, but it didn’t. It was fun and brisk and dark and modern.

It was also kinda white and male, in the way that buddy movies often are, which is okay by me but not a lot of people. Less okay for some would be what might seem like borderline racism, “explained” by some meta-jokes later in the movie. But Jamie Foxx was there, so everybody be cool. And Jennifer Aniston made up for a lot IMHO. So, on the offense-o-meter, I’d say if you can’t handle seeing sweet Jen getting harassingly nekked and then saying things like “Me, naked? Can you see my pussy?” (not even the worst thing she says, by far) you probably won’t like the other non-PC items on the list. Oh, yeah, and there’s a lot of physical comedy involving coke. The drug, I mean.

Also not the worst thing she does. Giving Bad Teacher a run for its money FTW.

The nerdy flashback: when the guys break into the apartment of Horrible Boss #2 (Colin Farrell) and stare in horrified amazement at the neoclassical-meets-Fight-Club decor, I was majorly obsessing about the mostly-obscured painting on one wall:

That’s the Rape of the Sabines, right?? was all I could think. Yep, it is, reflecting a very specific Livy passage. But it’s attention to strange little details like this (Harken’s house also has um, a unique decor) that shows you someone was paying attention. As do the fun cameos by Donald Sutherland, Ron White, and Bob Newhart — Bob Newhart! Hello, surprise comic legend alert!

So yeah, between Livy references, “crude and sexual content” (to use the MPAA lingo), and comic legends, I definitely felt like I got my money’s worth. Now for a post-mimosa nap.