"The Boss of it All" is a comedy film by Danish director Lars von Trier. As expected by the name Lars von Trier, the film is a far cry from a standard comedy film. This is hardly a date movie, and it certainly doesn't kowtow to a teenager's sensibilities. In fact, for all intents and purposes "The Boss of it All" is less a comedy and more an examination of the comedic form.
Lars von Trier is well-known for his pitch black dramas that frequently investigate the form and function of the drama occurring. The operatic tragedy "Dancer in the Dark" would be an example. With "The Boss of it All", he's got somewhat of a farce on his hands. He opens the film with the self-consciousness of a film parody, and continues to interrupt in a similar fashion throughout. The story, as it is, follows an out of work actor into a real world setting where he is hired to play the role of the president of a company no one has ever seen. From there he's left to fend for himself with a variety of improvisation skills and knee-jerk reaction.
This is a challenging film from the get-go. It's art-house to a fault. The camera framing and editing style are deliberately off-putting and inconsistent, the actors frequently act as though their lines have yet to arrive, and the story is actually of little consequence. What Lars von Trier has assembled seems to be a statement on a business without a head honcho, or more specifically what a film might look like without a director. This is very tricky, well-orchestrated insanity.
Lars von Trier is well-known for his pitch black dramas that frequently investigate the form and function of the drama occurring. The operatic tragedy "Dancer in the Dark" would be an example. With "The Boss of it All", he's got somewhat of a farce on his hands. He opens the film with the self-consciousness of a film parody, and continues to interrupt in a similar fashion throughout. The story, as it is, follows an out of work actor into a real world setting where he is hired to play the role of the president of a company no one has ever seen. From there he's left to fend for himself with a variety of improvisation skills and knee-jerk reaction.
This is a challenging film from the get-go. It's art-house to a fault. The camera framing and editing style are deliberately off-putting and inconsistent, the actors frequently act as though their lines have yet to arrive, and the story is actually of little consequence. What Lars von Trier has assembled seems to be a statement on a business without a head honcho, or more specifically what a film might look like without a director. This is very tricky, well-orchestrated insanity.