The Boss of It All (2007)

So much average

Pretty Good

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The fact that "The Boss of it All" is a strange film isn't unusual given it was directed by Lars von Trier. He's known for making unusual films and prides himself for his adherence to the posits of the so-called 'Dogma 95' film movement--one that makes many demands for its films, such as the story being placed in the present, the use of natural settings and the frequent use of hand-held cameras (among other things). The film begins unusually--with a narrator acknowledging that this is a film and making comments about the story and cinematography! It also ends in pretty much the same way and even has a point in the middle where more comments are made (presumably by von Trier). The story is about a very deceptive man. While Ravn appears to be a nice guy and his co-workers love him because he's 'like a cuddly bear', this is only a persona he puts on himself. Actually, he's a cutthroat businessman. Everyone thinks he's just a co-worker but he actually owns the company and has maneuvered everyone to sink their saving and energy into the company. But he's actually planning on selling his company to a group of Icelandic businessmen who HATE Danes and plan on firing everyone and making Ravn rich....and leaving his employees out in the cold with nothing! So how does he do this? He has created a fake boss--an absentee boss. But the folks who want to buy the company ALSO think there is such a boss. And, to finalize the deal, he needs to create a fake boss--a hatchet man who can sign off on the deal AND be blamed for everyone losing their jobs. To do this, he hires an out of work actor...but somehow his plan doesn't go as planned!Believe it or not, this movie reminds me of an episode of "Cheers" that debuted long before this movie. In it, Norm owned a painting company and none of his workers worked hard or had any respect for working-- so he created an alter-ego, Anton Keitzer, who was a nasty monster and intimidated the workers into doing their jobs! It's a funny idea and it works just fine in the film. While it is funny, it's not hilarious however and I have the feeling it could have been funnier-- particularly if von Trier had made the film in a more conventional style. Still, it's well worth seeing.

I've had it with comedies. I mean, I like comedies, always have. Probably I simply got too much depressed by the continuing lack of ideas displayed by writers and the continuing lack of style displayed by directors. When I started to watch "Direktøren for det hele" I surely didn't know what to expect. I mean... Lars von Trier is used to shot a genre that for sure isn't comedy. But oh boy if he's good at it. I don't want comment the technique of shooting (that is brilliant) but simply the content. And that's what makes this movie a great comedy: 1) the character have the right balance between absurdity and reality, starting from the actor failed who speaks only about Gambini; the boss who doesn't want to appear hard so he invented one; the employer who can't speak danish in a good way cause his lessons were cut (by the "boss"); the screaming girl at the copying machine; the punch in the face guy; the "you wouldn't **ck me until I bl** you good" woman; the Finnish buyer who hates danish (spectacular).2) the story is funny and "sad" at the same time: the boss of a company, wanting to preserve his image of a good man, invent a fake boss to finger him with all his bad actions. But when he decides to sell the company, the buyer wants to speak with the invented boss. Here comes on stage a failed actor who should have played the part of the boss just for a few minutes but that ends up doing it for one week. During this time he'll have to confront all the people that he's supposed to have directed in all of those preceding years, confronting with odd situations knowing little or nothing of each of them and of the company itself.3) great moments: a) when the boss of it all agree to a request of an employer without knowing what it is (that would be marrying her);b) when the mustache guy punches in the face the boss of it all;c) all the times the Finnish buyer damns the danish;d) when the boss of it all confess he isn't actually the real boss, because there exist the boss of the boss of it all;e) when Ravn confesses, and the mustache guy punches him too;f) when the Finnish mentions Gambini, and suddenly everything "changes" in the plane of the boss/actor.Why couldn't all the comedies be like this one?

This movie is undoubtedly an ideological departure from the recent LVT endeavours. It has no tear-jerking aspirations, except as a matter of laughs. In a way, it is self-ridiculing, adding an extra layer of hilarious logical traps. It is a bit slow in the third quarter, but then picks up. Special noteworthy inventions: the Icelandic buyer (a riot!), his translator, mythical Gambini and the "Hanged Cat"! Acting, acting, acting is very witty and plastic. It makes the piece (with mostly indoors setting) less cinematic, more of a filmed play (which is undoubtedly the intention of the director). Good entertainment and fairly original.

As a fan of Von Trier's other works, I am trying hard to identify the merits of this movie. But no matter how hard I try, I am left with nothing. I will not refer to this release as a motion picture or a movie. The correct classification for me would be staged footage, because that is what it feels like. A full length recording of Danish actors with no lines and no script, walking around in an office building. There is no chemistry or dynamics between the actors. Everything feels incredibly stiff and uncoordinated. There is no comedy. No delivery. No storyline. No point. I want a ticket refund.Watching the unedited silent surveillance tapes of a gas station counter in Uzbekistan would be at least twice as much fun as watching Direktøren For Det Hele.