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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE BOSS OF IT ALL
The Boss of It All

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The Boss of It All (2007)

73%
83%
73%
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73 %
Reviews Counted: 60 Fresh: 44  Rotten:16 Average Rating: 6.6/10
 
Consensus: A surprisingly sharp and witty comedy about office life gone haywire. 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. more
 
Rated: 15
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Theatrical Release: 29-02-2008
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]
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 WAVES. Indeed, moviegoers who felt alienated by esoteric works such as DOGVILLE and MANDERLAY should find themselves on more comfortable ground here. THE BOSS OF IT ALL is set in Denmark, and revolves around Ravn (Peter Gantzler), the unassertive founder of a popular technology company. Ravn has invented a fictional, svengali-like boss ("Svend") of the company, whom he claims is pulling the strings from America. In fact, Svend is a front that the lily-livered Ravn uses whenever he has to make an unpopular decision. But when Ravn decides to sell the company, he has to corral an unemployed actor, Kristoffer (Jens Albinus), into playing Svend, thus introducing him to a group of co-workers who all have wildly different expectations of what this shadowy figure will be like. The strength in von Trier's film lies in the subtle interplay between Gantzler and Albinus. Albinus's "Svend" gets into a mind-boggling array of tangled and complicated situations with Ravn's co-workers, and his woeful yet hilariously overwrought acting really hits some comic high points as the movie unravels. Von Trier shoots in a "mockumentary" style which is sure to draw comparisons to both the British and U.S. versions of THE OFFICE, but THE BOSS OF IT ALL is really a work that inhabits its own peculiar universe, standing as a fine testament to a director who is not afraid to confound, surprise, and even alienate his own audience. [Less]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Peter Gantzler, Jens Albinus, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Iben Hjejle, Henrik Prip

Director: Lars von Trier
Screenwriter: Lars von Trier
Producer: Meta Louise Foldager, Vibeke Windelov

DVD Info

Release:

Jun 9, 2008

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • (unspecified) - Danish
  • Subtitles - English - Optional

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
02/29/08 08:38 AM
Derek Malcolm
This is London
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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.

Full Review | Comment
02/29/08 08:24 AM
thelondonpaper
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
02/29/08 08:00 AM
Anthony Quinn
Independent
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The script and story are what matter. They are as neat and interlocked as nail scissors. They are also grimly funny.

Full Review | Comment
02/29/08 07:47 AM
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
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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.

Full Review | Comment
02/29/08 07:22 AM
Sukhdev Sandhu
Daily Telegraph
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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.

Full Review | Comment
02/29/08 06:44 AM
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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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.

Full Review | Comment
02/29/08 04:51 AM
Kevin Maher
Times [UK]
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Light, frothy and bitingly funny with a pleasingly dark underside.

Full Review | Comment
02/29/08 04:24 AM
Little White Lies
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Less contentious than typical Von Trier but also less satisfying; fun but perhaps too stiflingly clever to allow the comedy room to breathe.

Full Review | Comment
02/29/08 03:44 AM
Leigh Singer
Channel 4 Film
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A movie that manages to be both brilliantly witty and delightfully subversive - not least for reportedly entrusting all its cinematography to a computer.

Full Review | Comment
02/28/08 09:54 AM
Neil Smith
BBC
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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.

Full Review | Comment
02/28/08 09:24 AM
Neil Smith
Total Film
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Unpolished, but winning.

Full Review | Comment
02/28/08 09:18 AM
Sky Movies
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Von Trier's deconstructionist streak stymies this admirable attempt at a comedy.

Full Review | Comment
02/28/08 04:53 AM
Sam Toy
Empire Magazine
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Witty and sharp from start to finish

Full Review | Comment
05/23/07 03:02 PM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
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The film works well both as a comedy of misidentity and as an allegory of the relationship between directors and actors ...

Full Review | Comment
12/30/06 04:14 AM
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
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Lars von Trier must be mellowing in his old age - this is a delightful farce with a frequently hilarious script strong comic performances.

Full Review | Comment
12/30/06 04:14 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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In the humor department, The Boss of It All elicits few belly laughs but lots of thoughtful chuckles.

Full Review | Comment
09/14/07 05:53 PM
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press
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Scenes are thus punctuated by as many jump cuts as punch lines--a technique that amplifies the sly humor.

Full Review | Comment
09/14/07 05:51 PM
Andrea Gronvall
Chicago Reader
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the man couldn't make a simple movie if he was handed the blueprints.

Full Review | Comment
09/07/07 05:09 PM
Chris Cabin
Filmcritic.com
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More narratively modest than his recent work, The Boss of It All is something of a technological experiment.

Full Review | Comment
08/31/07 01:51 PM
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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