Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Jason Bateman

BY DENNIS KING

NEW YORK – On the set of “Horrible Bosses,” they were known as Charlie and the two Jasons. But among themselves, stars Charlie Day, Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis often thought of their characters as kindred cousins of the Three Stooges.

Cast as three working stiffs who are driven by abuse and desperation to plot the murder of their three crazy bosses, this dark comedy – cooked up by screenwriter Michael Markowitz (of the dyspeptic “Becker” TV series) – demands an escalating slapstick and spinning-out-of-control zaniness from its trio of stars.

While none of the three knuckleheads ever mutter, “Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk,” there are indeed a lot of implied “Oh, yeahs?” among them and loads of comic head slapping.

During a freewheeling press conference hosted by Warner Bros. at the Waldorf Astoria, Day, Bateman and Sudeikis talked about the Stooges dynamic that grew among them as the filming progressed.

“As far as the Stooges thing goes,” Bateman said, “we knew that the three of us were going to create one Stooge-like character, and the conversations that we had with (director Seth Gordon) at rehearsals supported that. So if you’re going to do X, then I need to do Y and you need to do Z and that’ll constantly be rotating to create one guy. And Seth shot it all for the most part in a three-shot so you can kind of see that and watch whichever one of us you want to have it all balance out.”

But while many of the movie’s most chaotic comic set pieces seem wholly improvised, Sudeikis (a mainstay on TV’s skit-based “Saturday Night Live”) said it was all carefully plotted.

“Improvisation for me is like saying when the cameras start rolling we don’t know where we’re going and let’s just waste people’s time and money,” Sudeikis said. “That’s not what happens. There’s a lot of people, a lot of time, these writers laid a tremendous framework. At the beginning of the day the four of us – Charlie and Jason and Seth and I – would talk about a scene and would develop a rhythm. You know each other’s rhythms at that point, and you know where the scene’s coming from and you’re just trying to make it lively on the day. It’s more just like quick discussions about changing things up.”

Day agreed but noted that some spontaneous moments of slapstick did make it onto the screen.

“There’s a lot of stuff in the script that’s in the movie and a couple of things that we came up with that made it into the movie, too,” he said. “So it’s a nice balance.”

Gordon said the three stars’ willingness to channel a kind of Three Stooges chemistry and the resulting madcap vibe came from it was a pleasant surprise.

“Actually, seeing them together for the first time changed the way I shot the movie,” the director said. “It was going to be more traditional comedy coverage, but when I saw the three of them interacting and filling in every nook and cranny with comedy it became clear that the best way to see this movie was to hold the three guys in one shot and that effected coverage of everything.

“I will say on the Stooges point, there was more and more slapping of each other as the film shoot went on,” Gordon said, “which I think was partly due to them having to be stuck in a car together so much of the time.”

Added Sudeikis with a Stooge-like chuckle, “And as far as who was Larry, Moe or Curly, it was more like who was (“Sex and the City’s”) Carrie, Miranda and Samantha.”

BY DENNIS KING

NEW YORK – Despite delivering some dark-tinged performances in indies such as “The Good Girl” and thrillers such as “Derailed,” Jennifer Aniston is still largely cast in the public mind as a wholesome “America’s sweetheart.”

Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston

Much of the entertainment-consuming public persists in viewing Aniston as some cute variation on Rachel Green, the sweet, comically scattered Manhattan single gal she portrayed for 10 seasons on the hit TV series “Friends.” And the majority of her filmography is comprised of romantic comedies and dramas (“The Object of My Affection,” “Along Came Polly,” “Love Happens,” etc.) that play to that perky, pretty, well-scrubbed image.

Which is why her latest role as the predatory, sex-crazed employer in the off-kilter comedy “Horrible Bosses” seems like such a jarring – and daring – change of direction for the bubbly, upbeat Aniston.

“Horrible Bosses” unfolds as a sort of “Nine to Five” for guys, with a trio of gainfully employed pals (Charlie Day, Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis) suffering workplace abuse at the hands of three insufferably crude, conniving or inept bosses and in desperation hatching a crazy scheme to murder all three offending employers. Aniston plays dark-haired, mascara-ed Dr. Julia Harris, a flinty, foul-mouthed dentist who is determined to seduce, by hook or crook, her happily engaged assistant Dale (Day) before he marries.

“I didn’t take the role so I could rid myself of that title (‘America’s Sweetheart’),” Aniston told entertainment writers during a recent press conference hosted by Warner Bros. at the Waldorf Astoria. “I mean, I don’t know where that comes from. There are so many different ‘American Sweethearts.’ I just took the part because I loved it, and I thought it would be a challenge and fun for me to sort of step out of what people usually like to see me play. That’s a label, you know, you’re branded, there’s always going to be something attached to you.”

Still, Dr. Julia Harris, whose “potty mouth” and crude sexual appetites push the boundaries of comic raunchiness, will certainly come as a startling revelation to Aniston’s fans.

But, the actresses asserts, she saw the role as a smart, funny way to satirize male sexist behavior that is often the norm in so-called R-rated “guy comedies.”

“Well, that’s what I think was so much fun about it, being a female in a role that is usually a male character,” Aniston said. “And I sort of thought of her as being like a guy, and that made it really smart.”

However, the actress insisted, she didn’t provide any personal input in developing the character. “It was all on the page,” she demurred. “I was just doing my job. However, I did go to the dentist right beforehand though. To see how they hold the tools.

“You don’t want to play it safe all the time,” Aniston continued. “I’ve never had a script come to me that allowed me to go in this direction, so it was a great opportunity. And I don’t really think I cared if there was a bad reaction to it. I actually didn’t think there would be. I thought I would just be fun for everybody.”

The blond-haired Aniston (who dutifully enumerated her wardrobe for a curious reporter, “I wearing a Tom Ford skirt, I’m wearing a Calvin Klein top and Michael Kors shoes”) said her biggest hurdle in taking the role was getting studio officials to agree to a darker, more slinky look for Dr. Julia.

“I knew I wanted to look different,” she said. “I wanted her to have dark hair, but I was doing a movie right before this and right after so we had this period of time that we call ‘hairgate,’ because the studio did not want me to wear a dark wig.

“They were like, ‘nobody will know who you are.’ I was like, ‘Whataya mean, they’ll know who I am from my name on the credits.’ But there’s no way I could be saying these words and playing this woman and not look somewhat different. (But once that was resolved) I felt such freedom. That was really fun. I hadn’t ever really had that much fun with a character before.”

Director Seth Gordon was quick to sing Aniston’s praises for being a good sport and being willing to play so radically and raunchily against her wholesome persona.

“When I read the script I laughed so hard I cried. That doesn’t happen often,” Gordon said. “It was just phenomenal, especially the Dr. Julia lines and the only person I could imagine saying those lines and having it be electric and amazing was Aniston. And I’m just so glad she said yes.”

Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman

Summer in the multiplexes used to be the exclusive domain of kid- and family-friendly G, PG and PG-13 rated movies. That is, until “Wedding Crashers” scored such a surprise hit in the heat of 2005 and pioneered the way for a rash of R-rated counter-programming in summers since.

Already this summer, moviegoers with a taste for adult-oriented raunchiness or without youngsters to placate have found their guilty R-pleasures in “The Hangover Part II,” “Bridesmaids” and “Bad Teacher.” Now the ante is upped with the zestfully rude and offbeat “Horrible Bosses,” a nutty, naughty “Nine to Five” for working guys who fantasize about taking deadly revenge on abusive employers.

Deftly directed by Seth Gordon (best known for the hilarious cult video-game documentary “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”), the movie brings together a top-shelf cast with a wildly zany but tightly written script to create a darkly queasy comedy that’ll likely make you cringe as often as it makes you laugh.

The far-fetched premise is this: three drinking buddies – Nick, Kurt and Dale (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day) – like their jobs but hate their horrible bosses. Nick’s boss Dave Harkin (Kevin Spacey) is a cruel corporate shark with a murderous streak; Kurt’s boss Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell) is a pretentious tool determined to run the family business into the ground, and Dale’s boss, Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S. (Jennifer Aniston) is a sexual predator keen on luring naïve Dale into the sack.

Through a series of unlikely comic turns the working-stiff pals become so harassed and desperate that they enlist the aid of a weirdly tattooed barroom hustler named Mother(bleep!) Jones (Jamie Foxx) and hatch a crazy, “Strangers on a Train” scheme to murder their three horrible bosses.

With chaotic nods to “Ruthless People” and “Throw Momma From the Train,” the convoluted plot spins wildly out of control and leaves our three anti-heroes (who increasingly come to resemble the Three Stooges) frantically struggling to extricate themselves from the bloody mess that ensues.

Despite the story’s macabre context (murder for laughs), the leads – Charlie and the two Jasons – score with their mile-a-minute buddy patter and amusing frat-boy chemistry. The writing here is quick, cutting and witty. Day (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and Sudeikis (“Saturday Night Live”) carry most of the doofus comic freight, while the likable Bateman (“Arrested Development”) acts as befuddled straight man.

But the real comic firepower comes from the high-profile supporting players – a dark-wigged Aniston playing deviously and seductively against type; a conniving Spacey echoing the cold menace of his “Glengarry Glen Ross” gamesmanship, and Foxx bringing hilarious street-hustler jive to the dicey shenanigans. However, the show-stopper performance comes from Farrell, who with pot belly and comb over seems to be channeling “King of Kong’s “ real-life Donkey Kong maestro Billy Mitchell in his most vainglorious antics.

As “Horrible Bosses” can attest, while there’s nothing funny about workplace harassment, a richly satisfying comic catharsis can arise from fantasizing about our most dire and dastardly revenge on bad bossy bosses.

- Dennis King

“Horrible Bosses”

R
1:33
3 stars
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis
(Crude and sexual content, pervasive language and some drug material)

BY GENE TRIPLETT

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Peter and Bobby Farrelly say they’re close enough to a final line-up of cast members for their Three Stooges biopic to poke ‘em in the eyeballs.
At least that’s what the writing, producing and directing team of brothers  were hinting at during a press conference in February, while promoting their lastest comedy, “Hall Pass,” starring Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis.
“Yeah, we’ve been working on (the Stooges project) for about 10 years, maybe longer,” Bobby Farrelly told reporters who were gathered at the Four

Bobby and Peter Farrelly

 Seasons Hotel on Grammy Awards weekend.
“We finally have just gotten it into preproduction, so we are gonna shoot it a little later this spring.”
The on-again, off-again casting rumors have included such names as Jim Carrey as Curly Howard, Benicio Del Toro as Moe Howard and Sean Penn as Larry Fine.
Then it was reported that Carrey and Penn had dropped out. Paul Giamatti was mentioned as a second choice to play Larry, and Farrelly regular Richard Jenkins reportedly has signed on in some capacity. To play Shemp, perhaps?
The Farrellys have long credited the mid-20th century Vaudeville and film comedy trio as major influences on their careers, which have produced such outrageous comedies as “There’s Something About Mary,” “Dumb and Dumber” and “Me, Myself & Irene.”
“No question they were a big influence on us,” Bobby Farrelly said. “We grew up watching ‘em. We’d come home from school and watch them on TV and laugh. These were guys from the 1930s and ’40s. I don’t know, we just felt like that type of slapstick humor that they did was very timeless and fun and we want to try to recreate it.”
However, the brothers still weren’t ready to name any names yet.
“Right now we are diligently casting it, trying to find out who the right guys are,” Bobby Farrelly said. “It’s not an easy job because you know even the great actors might struggle with those particular roles. So we’re looking at everyone and probably will have it cast in about a month or so. We are gonna make it and we’re very excited about it.”
Chances are it could be Stooge-pendous. N’yuk, n’yuk, n’yuk.

Listed on wimgo Movies under Comedy

BY GENE TRIPLETT

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — To hear the cast and directors of “Hall Pass” tell it, there’s as much hilarity happening off-camera as on when the Farrelly brothers are making a movie.

“There were more kind of, like, wrap parties on this movie than normal movies,” Owen Wilson recalled.

“A weekly wrap party,” Jenna Fischer affirmed.

“Prewrap wrap parties,” Jason Sudeikis elaborated.

“There was a lot,” Wilson said.

“More games were invented,” Sudeikis marveled, glancing down the long table at Peter and Bobby Farrelly. “You guys could have your own Olympics with the (stuff) you guys do. Like the birthday contest.”

“There was a dice game with the giant dice that you found,” Fischer said.

And Sudeikis described a basketball game using a football to shoot hoops. No easy dribbling there.

“That’s where I made most of my money back,” Bobby Farrelly said with a smile.

“You were really good at it,” Sudeikis admitted.

All these happy memories were coming out during a freewheeling news conference at the Four Seasons Hotel with Wilson, Fischer, Sudeikis and the Farrellys promoting the new comedy “Hall Pass.”

Like most comedies written and directed by the Farrelly Brothers (“Dumb & Dumber,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “Me, Myself & Irene”), it’s loaded with irreverent, outrageous and often off-color humor dealing with life, love, sex and bodily functions.

“Hall Pass” is no exception, incorporating all those elements into a story about best buddies Rick and Fred (Wilson and Sudeikis), two longtime married guys who love their wives, but, like a lot of men, just can’t keep from scoping out every other woman who crosses their field of vision.

Fed up with their spouses’ wandering eyes, the wives (Fischer and Christina Applegate) take drastic measures to revitalize their marriages, granting their husbands a “hall pass” — one week of freedom to do whatever they want with no questions asked. Let them find out what they’re missing.

It all seems too good to be true, but the boys quickly learn that the single life they imagine has nothing to do with reality. For example: The first places they choose to “cruise chicks” are the bars at Applebee’s and Chili’s — not exactly swinging singles hot spots.

Someone asked Wilson what establishments he’d recommend for meeting women.

“Olive Garden,” he said.

“Chuck E. Cheese,” Sudeikis suggested.

“What about Bed Bath & Beyond?” Fischer said. “For real. There’s a ton of women there.”

“Where?” a bewildered Peter Farrelly asked.

“Bed Bath & Beyond,” Fischer repeated. “Target. Go where women go. They’re all there. The cosmetics counter.”

“Whole Foods,” Peter Farrelly said, getting into the spirit of things.

“Let’s go to Trader Joe’s,” Wilson said.

“Bring deodorant, though,” Sudeikis cautioned.

Apparently, the hilarity just keeps on coming whenever this bunch gets together. Even a news conference becomes a party.

But for the film, the Farrellys wanted Wilson to play against the hip, carefree party animal image he’s flaunted in such films as “Wedding Crashers” and “You, Me and Dupree.” That required, among other things, a drastic trimming of his blond locks and a change in wardrobe style.

“I think what you guys (the Farrelly brothers) had in mind when you talked about me playing the character, was kind of having a real look for the guy,” Wilson said.

“And I remember my older brother (Andrew), who was in the movie, coming to Atlanta where we filmed and just seeing me in my wardrobe. He’s like, ‘You look so bad.’ Just putting on the clothes, it just made you feel like, ‘God, I’ve got no game.’ … You know, when you’ve got pleated jeans and these kind of orthopedic shoes, you don’t feel very sexy.”

Travel and accommodations provided by Warner Bros.

Listed on wimgo Movies under Comedy

The Farrelly brothers are back for another raunchy romp replete with irreverent, outrageous, colossally crude humor in “Hall Pass.”

This time they explore the dirty mind of the seven-year-itchy married man with Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis (“Saturday Night Live”) as Rick and Fred, respectively, two guys who can’t keep their eyes from wandering whenever shapely young women cross their sightlines. Trouble is, they’re not very subtle about it in front of their wives, who finally resort to the drastic measure of granting their husbands a “hall pass” — a green light to commit all the adultery they can manage for one whole week, just to get it out of their systems.

Of course, the wives (Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate) are gambling that the boys will quickly learn that the swinging singles world they’re imagining out there has nothing to do with reality, and that they will fail miserably and sheepishly return to the fold, disappointed, contrite and with a renewed appreciation for what they have at home.

The wives have called it right, because the tragically unhip Rick and Fred take the first misguided step of choosing such places as the bars at Applebee’s and Chili’s for “cruising chicks.” It gradually begins to dawn on these born-again bachelors that pickup lines from questionable “how to” sources (“How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice! Hi, my name’s Fred, can I buy you a drink?” and “Do you think these bar napkins smell like chloroform?”) and prop helmets (“Because chicks dig motorcycles”) just aren’t fazing their female targets.

The game has changed in their 20-year absence, along with the amount of partying their systems can withstand before they crash-land for the night, and before they know it their allotted week of freedom is running out, with nothing but a series of hangovers, a stoned golf course fiasco and a bruising encounter with a giant jealous boyfriend to show for it.

A conscience-troubled Rick is ready to pack it in anyway, but gung-ho Fred refuses to admit defeat, and their fortunes begin to turn when their old pal Coakley, a legendary, eternal bachelor and “love doctor” (a hilariously straight-faced Richard Jenkins) steps in to teach them his tricks, coaching Rick to take an ongoing flirtation with a gorgeous waitress (Nicky Whelan) to the next level. Fred in turn, takes advantage of a case of mistaken identity to bed somebody’s sexy middle-age aunt (it gets complicated).

But what never occurs to Rick and Fred is that the “hall pass” makes their wives likewise single, and Fred’s wife, Grace (Applegate), persuades Rick’s wife, Maggie (Fischer), that they’re licensed to cut loose as well.

Irreparable damage to both marriages seems imminent as everyone treads on dangerous home-wrecking ground, and along the way there are plenty of opportunities for the co-writing, co-directing team of Peter and Bobby Farrelly to inject the kind of scatological, gross-out gags that made hits such as “There’s Something About Mary” and “Dumb & Dumber” the kind of films that would surely make Beavis and Butt-head’s Top 10.

“Hall Pass” does have some laugh-out-loud moments and even some valid observations on what it takes to make love and marriage last, but the good is all but crushed by groan-inducing sophomoric overload. You may want to shower afterward.

— Gene Triplett

MOVIE REVIEW

“Hall Pass”

R

1:38

2 stars

Starring: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, Richard Jenkins, Nicky Whelan.

(Crude and sexual humor throughout, language, some graphic nudity and drug use)

Listed on wimgo Movies under Comedy