Charlie Day had great fun filming Horrible Bosses 2, writes Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli
GIVEN its raunchy and dark comedic themes, 2011 blockbuster comedy hit Horrible Bosses was a good watch.
Its perfect ensemble of A-list actors contributed significantly to the film’s worldwide success.
For one of the cast members, American actor Charlie Day, filming Horrible Bosses was great fun because he and his co-stars get along so well.
He and fellow comedic actors Jason Sudeikis and Jason Bateman play three friends, Dale, Kurt and Nick, respectively.
Being bullied at work, they decide to kill their respective awful and psychotic bosses, played by Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell and Kevin Spacey.
“It was a nice reunion for us when we filmed the sequel, which was also a lot of fun,” Day says in a phone interview.
Directed by Sean Anders, Horrible Bosses 2 will be released on Nov 27, promising more excitement, mischief and humour in its content.
Day explains the plot: “This time around, Dale, Kurt and Nick are tired of working for their cruel bosses so they’ve become their own bosses.” They start their own company but they get involved with a “much more powerful and less ethical businessman” (Christoph Waltz) who steals the company from them.
The three friends resort to the world of crime and attempt to kidnap the businessman’s son (Chris Pine).
“Of course, the kidnapping doesn’t go according to plan and they get themselves in trouble again.
“Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Spacey also return (for the sequel) and we get to work with Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz.
“Again, just like the first movie, it was a thrill to work on this the entire time,” Day says.
GREAT MATCH
The star of TV comedy It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Day believes he was the first person to sign on to star in Horrible Bosses back in 2010.
He had a great meeting with the film’s director Seth Gordon and he liked the premise of the film.
“Starting out as a young man, doing any and every job I could to pay the rent in New York City, I had many very stern, strict and cheap sorts of bosses,” Day says, adding that he could totally relate to his character Dale.
“I only found out about my fellow cast members later but the script and director were interesting enough for me to say yes.
“Obviously Horrible Bosses was a great opportunity for me but the cast just got better and better that it convinced me that I made the right choice.” Horrible Bosses turned out to be a hit, earning a worldwide box-office gross of more than US$209 million (RM702 million).
FILMING THE SEQUEL
Day reveals that the production of Horrible Bosses 2 was smooth - sailing, save for that one day where they were filming at a golf course.
“A thick layer of fog came in and no one could see more than a metre in front.
“We had to wait for it to clear out, and it took almost a whole day,” he recalls.
On other days, however, there were a lot of laughs on set.
“We entertained each other a lot too, trying to make the funniest movie we could.” Day adds that the cast and crew took their responsibility seriously in making sure that the sequel lives up to the first film and takes the story to a new and creative direction.
ACTING WITH THE GREATS
In the prequel, dental assistant Dale is sexual harassed by his boss Dr Julia Harris (Aniston).
Even though the actors are professional, Day reveals that it was naturally awkward between them since the scenes required them to be that way.
He laughs. “Not only is she a beautiful woman, she’s also one of the most famous women on the planet.” Day says that Aniston was wonderful and made him very comfortable.
She also let him know that she felt comfortable and not too awkward.
“Of course it’s awkward to film anything where you have to take your clothes off,” Day adds, snickering.
“Jennifer and I were able to keep it light and as funny as we could.
The adventure continues in this sequel.” Another film legend is Waltz who will play savvy business investor Bert Hanson.
“He’s very charming, a wonderful actor, a cultured man.
He also has a wonderful sense of humour (despite his intimidating persona). He was very approachable.
“He seemed very happy to be part of the movie. He put us all a tease. He was a pleasant man to be around.”
OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK
Going into Horrible Bosses 2, Day and the rest of the cast and crew were well aware of the rather poor history of sequels.
“Knowing that, I personally feel that we’ve accomplished in avoiding a lot of the pitfalls that those movies fall into.” He says that during filming, they stayed diligently aware of making sure that they weren’t making those mistakes.
“I think part of the mistakes that people make is maybe not caring enough about what story you’re telling for the sequel.
“(For Horrible Bosses 2,) we were able to avoid from anyone having that attitude.” The sequel’s screenwriters Anders and John Morris were wonderfully receptive towards any creative ideas the cast had.
They had many lengthy meetings about every single scene before they even started filming.
“It was a wonderfully collaborative movie for Jason and Jason and myself, with Sean and John.
“We were able to contribute quite a bit and they would decide what was good and what wasn’t.
“They’d be the judge at the end of the day and tie it all together to make a good movie,” Day explains.
Chuckling, he ponders over the question of whether he would say yes to a third installment of the Horrible Bosses franchise, should there be one.
Just like their experience with Horrible Bosses 2, Day says it would depend on whether the team can come up with a great story or script that made sense for a third film.
“It would also depend on whether or not Jason and Jennifer would want to sign on.
“For me, that’s the joy of doing the movie — getting to work with the two of them.
That would dictate my decision.” Up next for the actor is a cameo in the upcoming installment of National Lampoon’s Vacation film series, to be released next year.
He’s also working on the 10th season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.