Years ago director Seth Gordon made a big impression with his critical doc darling, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. The film made our own best 30 films of the decade and you’d be on a fool’s mission to find someone who doesn’t enjoy that unique story. To no surprise, the heavily pirated documentary kicked down a lot of doors for Gordon. Just recently he’s been attached to direct the WarGames remake, so it’s obvious he’s come quite a long way in a quick amount of time. His latest comedy, Horrible Bosses, also represents how rapid the filmmaker is rising. The greatest surprise of the film is that, tonally, the film isn’t all that mean. The story’s about three guys plotting to murder their respective bosses, but even with that dark concept and some bastardly antagonists it never goes to the extreme. Gordon flirts with some darkness and satire, but it stays relatively safe. Here’s what director Seth Gordon had to say about the doors The King of Kong opened up for him, going with a lighter version of Horrible Bosses, and the nature of comedic filmmaking:

Horrible Bosses features some of the most inspired casting you’ll find in any big studio comedy this year, with three actors playing against type with exceptional success. Unfortunately, those three performers — Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Aniston — are the supporting acts here, the titular vile bosses of three of the most boring white guys imaginable. Sure, they’re played by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day, funny men all, but the stars lack the charisma, the comic energy and the overall appeal of the aforementioned A-listers, who go to some truly whacked-out places. It’s a fundamental miscalculation that filmmaker Seth Gordon can’t overcome.

Have you ever had a horrible boss? Got a good story about that? If you tell us your horrible boss story, and we like it, you can win a pass to an early VIP screening of New Line Cinema’s new flick Horrible Bosses in Columbus, Ohio, hosted by FSR’s resident Fat Guy Kevin Carr. (Please note… former employees of Donald Trump are excluded from this contest because that’d be just too easy. You too, Rob Hunter.) Here’s how you can get in to see Horrible Bosses before it opens and enjoy a VIP reception before the film. Search your brain for your best (and hopefully true) story about a horrible boss you’ve had in the past. Recount your story in the comments section of this post. Please remember to change the names of people and businesses to protect the guilty. Or not. Either way.

Hot off the heels of playing body swapping best friends with Ryan Reynolds in The Change-Up, Jason Bateman is gearing up to star in a best friends whose kids bone each other comedy with Vince Vaughn called The Insane Laws. Which I guess is some sort of play on the word in-laws. The story of the film is that Bateman and Vaughn’s characters are best friends whose lives have followed the exact path all the way up to their kids getting into and attending the same college. Sounds like a pretty ideal situation for best friends, right? Being there together, sharing everything, every step of the way. Well not once Bateman’s son gets a hold of Vaughn’s daughter and a pregnancy happens. That puts the lifelong friendship in what is sure (not sure?) to be hilarious upheaval.

Seth Gordon’s new comedy Horrible Bosses has a trailer. If you don’t know who Seth Gordon is, he’s not only the guy who directed the amazing Donkey Kong documentary King of Kong, but he’s also directed episodes of pretty much every amazingly funny comedy that’s on TV right now. So, I imagine his movie is going to be pretty great, and while this trailer isn’t exactly revolutionary, it does its job of making this look like a barrel of laughs. Horrible Bosses tells the story of three guys, played by Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis, who have three exceptionally evil bosses, played by Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, and Kevin Spacey, and who get together and decide to have them killed. Of course, they’re just a couple of working class dweebs, what do they know about killing people? Problem solved; just hire Jamie Foxx as your “murder consultant” Motherfucker Jones. Doesn’t sound like enough for you to check out this movie already? Just wait; there’s more. Aniston eats hotdogs, Popsicles, and bananas while wearing lingerie, Day seems to be just about as stupid as he is on Always Sunny, Colin Farrell is looking super creepy with a balding comb over and a finely manicured beard, Modern Family’s Julie Bowen is somewhere in this movie being pretty and funny, and when they guys get arrested for speeding who is their arresting officer but Bunk from The Wire. Plus there’s car crashes, discrimination against the handicapped, comedic cocaine use, and white

By the end of 2010, fans will see Olivia Wilde on House, in theaters for The Next Three Days and Tron: Legacy, and will hear more about her role in Cowboys and Aliens. She’s going to be everywhere, and that’s not even counting television appearances, magazine photo shoots, and co-starring roles in dreams. Now, she’ll appear alongside Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds for The Change Up – a film that sees uptight Bateman switch bodies with slacker Reynolds for the record-breaking 2,000th body changing movie. The best possible outcome? A twist ending where Batemen finds himself permanently stuck inside Jodie Foster’s body.

Romantic comedy makers, here’s some advice: When you’re pinpointing a male lead to star opposite a genre stalwart such as Jennifer Aniston, skew more toward the Jason Batemans of the world than the Matthew McConaugheys. The Arrested Development veteran’s appearance in The Switch, a top-notch valentine to New York City and parenthood being released during the summer doldrums, epitomizes the wisdom of this approach. As neurotic, repressed financial analyst Wally Mars, Bateman turns the standard leading male archetype on its head. Out of a morass of clichés, from the When Harry Met Sally components of the narrative to the big climactic reveal, he makes stability sexy, offering an appealing regular-guy counterpart in the cold war with Patrick Wilson’s dreamboat Roland for the heart of Kassie (Aniston). Beneath the bundle of obsessions and fears is a smart, lonely man fighting for self-respect and the right to feel happy.

The Switch is the newly renamed comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman about artificial insemination, mistaken identity, and the perils of sticking kitchen utensils up your bajango. It was originally called The Baster… a title that’s simultaneously better and worse then the new one.

When any member of the Arrested Development cast speaks, the press listens. Even when they’re saying nothing of consequence.

Kevin Carr sits his chubbiness down and sees if Avatar, Did You Hear About the Morgans? and Up In the Air can make the grade.

‘Up in the Air’ is Jason Reitman’s first flat-out masterpiece.

Paramount Pictures has provided us with two new clips from their upcoming release Up in the Air, from Thank You for Smoking and Juno director Jason Reitman.

It’s no surprise that Couples Retreat was… not good. And we now know (thanks to this week’s Reject Report) that it won the weekend box office with $35 mil. So, what gives?

Kevin Carr takes a look at this week’s movie releases, including Couple’s Retreat, Paranormal Activity and Toy Story & Toy Story 2 in 3D Double Feature.

Neil crawls into the Magical Studio in the Sky in spite of the fact that he’s suffering from the Fantastic Flu, though Kevin suspects this is just an excuse for having not seen any of the movies this week. Still, the Fat Guys go on a Couple’s Retreat and experience some Paranormal Activity.

From the long list of names on the posters and trailers, you’d think that this comedy would rise above the usual average drivel, but you’d be wrong.

Columbus Rejects! Get a chance to see Couple’s Retreat before it opens… for free!

Jason Reitman’s latest film starring George Clooney is getting a few reviews out of Colorado, and they are calling it a masterpiece that’s destined for golden statues come Winter. Meanwhile, the rest of us will just have to wait until December to see it.

Kevin Carr looks ahead to this week’s movie releases, taking aim at Gamer and All About Steve while being a little kinder to Extract..

A hilarious concept, a great cast, a talented director and yet somehow Extract falls flat.