The Boss of It All (2007)
73 %
Reviews Counted: 60 Fresh: 44 Rotten:16 Average Rating: 6.6/10
Consensus:
Director Lars von Trier ditches the pretensions but keeps his misanthropy in The Boss of it All, a surprisingly sharp and witty comedy about office life gone haywire.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Theatrical Release: May 23, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: Controversial yet always-interesting filmmaker Lars von Trier takes a surprising turn with THE BOSS OF IT ALL. Von Trier shackles his film to a traditional narrative structure, hitting cinematic heights he's been unable to reach since early efforts such as THE IDIOTS and BREAKING THE... [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Peter Gantzler, Jens Albinus, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Iben Hjejle, Henrik Prip
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Reviews
A bit of a shambles, but perhaps in its lack of von Trier's usual pretensions will lie the charm of this film for some.
Comment
02/29/08
Full of in-jokes for Von Trier fans and oddly shot, the quirkiness will probably be lost on those unfamiliar with the Dogme 95 man’s work.
02/29/08
Von Trier has evidently been watching The Office, and replicates both its soulless setting and fly-on-the-desk camera-style, not to mention the Brentian fear of being unpopular.
02/29/08
The script and story are what matter. They are as neat and interlocked as nail scissors. They are also grimly funny.
02/29/08
Von Trier may be commenting on the mechanical, dehumanised nature of corporate decision-making, or of Hollywood filmmaking. Maybe he's just being whimsical. It's always hard to tell with this joker-provocateur. And always completely fascinating.
02/29/08
In some ways, I enjoyed this movie more than any of his features, and yet it's sad that he has drawn in his horns so much.
02/29/08
Despite roguish interventions from Von Trier himself (in voiceover, and on screen), the movie has more in common with Working Girl and Trading Places than anything from Europe's leading auteur. Which, it seems, is a lucky, liberating thing.
02/29/08
Less contentious than typical Von Trier but also less satisfying; fun but perhaps too stiflingly clever to allow the comedy room to breathe.
02/29/08
A movie that manages to be both brilliantly witty and delightfully subversive - not least for reportedly entrusting all its cinematography to a computer.
02/28/08
For all the sleights of hand its director conjures up, this is an undeniably slight affair. But it’s still a sublimely entertaining one from a maverick confident enough in his abilities to make fun of his previous work and his agent provocateur persona.
02/28/08
Von Trier's deconstructionist streak stymies this admirable attempt at a comedy.
02/28/08
In the humor department, The Boss of It All elicits few belly laughs but lots of thoughtful chuckles.
09/14/07
Top Critic
Scenes are thus punctuated by as many jump cuts as punch lines--a technique that amplifies the sly humor.
09/14/07
Top Critic
the man couldn't make a simple movie if he was handed the blueprints.
09/07/07
More narratively modest than his recent work, The Boss of It All is something of a technological experiment.
08/31/07
What begins as an elaborate theater game turns into a screwball parody of sentimental comedies...
08/17/07
For all his talk of 'harmless' comedy, it's clear that von Trier is capable of no such thing. The beauty of The Boss of It All is that it can be viewed through a variety of prisms...
08/17/07
An honestly charming, witty confection, with nary a martyred female or uncomfortable money shot to be found. [Von Trier's] gotta be up to something.
08/15/07
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