My Boss's Daughter (2003)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by David Dorfman
Directed by David Zucker
Starring Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid, Terence Stamp, Molly Shannon, Jon Abrahams, Andy Richter, and Carmen Elektra

Features:

• Outtakes
  
• Behind-the-scenes special: A Look Behind My Boss' Daughter
  
• Tara Reid Audition
  

Released by: Dimension Home Video
Rating: R
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Skip it

Tom Stansfield (Kutcher) is just an ordinary guy who doesn't want to make waves in life for anyone. He desperately wants a promotion at work, but he keeps getting passed over because he's not the type of guy that stands out. Not only that, but he is in love with his boss' daughter (clever name for the film, eh?). Lisa (Reid) also works in the same office with Tom and her father, Jack (Stamp). When Lisa asks Tom to housesit for her while she goes to a party with her father, he sees this as his opportunity to impress not only the boss, but his daughter. The problem is, he's not ready for all of the people that enter his life in that single night.

Well, David Zucker has sunk to a new low. Watching this movie, I found it impossible to believe that this is the same man that brought us Airplane! and Top Secret!. I know it's supposed to be a comedy and it's going to sound like I'm overanalyzing it, but comedy has to be very precise. This movie feels like they shot it directly from the treatment they submitted to the production company. None of the supposed jokes are fleshed out and tightened up in the least. When you add to the fact that the only actor who gets what's going on in this movie is Stamp, this movie was destined to fail.

Stamp is the best part of the movie, but even he looks like he's phoning it in. Shannon looks bored out of her mind. Reid simply does not know funny. She knows how to come across as sophisticated sexy...as long as she doesn't have to open her mouth to speak. There is absolutely no chemistry going on between her and Kutcher. Kutcher needs to just go back home and come back a little later; I'm sure he's a funny guy, but he doesn't have any idea how to re-shape it from a sitcom to a feature film. The pacing of feature film comedy is completely different, and he just doesn't get it.

The DVD is not that funny either. As you know, I'm a huge fan of outtakes on a DVD, but these are ridiculous. As a matter of fact, all they do is show the level of unprofessionalism of Kutcher and Reid. Most of these outtakes are them laughing at each other for no reason while the camera is rolling...wasting film. There were no funny little bits of screw-ups on camera, just these two actors trying to hold it together while the director shouts "action" a hundred times.

The behind-the-scenes featurette is every bit as boring as the film. It is full of the cast and crew trying to talk about this movie, while sounding as if it's the next huge comedy smash and inflating each other's egos to the point of them collapsing in on themselves like a dwarf star. The only other listed feature is Tara Reid's audition footage. This is stuff shot on a home video camera of a scene between her and Kutcher. Again, watching this footage, you get the idea that the only reason she was cast was because she is a blonde with bright eyes--which I'm not arguing, mind you--but there is nothing here that demonstrates that she can carry an entire comedy as the lead.

There is an easily found easter egg on the disc as well. Apparently, when they screened the movie for audiences, they decided that there was a scene missing. Zucker went back to the producers and got permission to add the scene to the movie. In order to convince them, he shot the scene with the actors on a handy-cam to prove that it would improve the film. This is the footage of the movie that was shot on the handy-cam. A nice thought to include but...whoopie.

So, if you see this one sitting on the shelf, fight the urge to pick it up. It's not funny enough to pay the money for a rental. Maybe if you see the film itself on cable one night, I'll forgive you.