The boss is always right: These 7 movie bosses you don’t want for yourself

Is your boss a replica of one of those horrible movie bosses? If not, you might be one of the blessed individuals.

Numerous movies and TV shows have captured the realistic settings of offices over the years, with some even exaggerating for creative purposes. Bosses in an office can often make or break your experience in the workplace with their behavior.

Movie bosses shown in The Intern and Big give us the hopeful version of what a great boss would be like and how impactful their presence is on their employees. Alternatively, various movies show us the disastrous side of the bosses and how it affects their employees. For instance, Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada might have been a complex character, but her presence terrified her employees, creating a frightening and chilling workplace.

In this article, we have listed 7 movie bosses that you would definitely not want as your boss due to any of the reasons, such as their demeaning, controlling, or more sinister reasons.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer’s opinion. Reader discretion is advised.

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7 movie bosses you don’t want for yourself

7) Bobby Pellitt (Horrible Bosses)

As the name suggests, Horrible Bosses portrays some of the most horrible movie bosses of all time. Whether it's Jennifer Aniston’s Dr. Julia Harris or Kevin Spacey’s Dave Harken, the movie perfectly depicts the horror of having a boss that would ruin your workplace experience in a blink.

Colin Farrell’s Bobby Pellitt was Kurt Buckman’s (Jason Sudeikis) new boss who takes over his father’s chemical company after his death. His father was a kindhearted boss, in contrast to Farrell’s Bobby, who was a cocaine-addicted and apathetic boss. Him being the boss didn’t just create problems for Kurt but also for the company, which ended up suffering for his neglect in doing a good job.

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6) Principal Trunchbull (Matilda)

Talking about horrible and scary movie bosses without mentioning Miss Trunchbull would be a serious offense. In the 1996 movie Matilda, Pam Ferris plays Agatha Trunchbull, the principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary School.

She is known for her impeccable physical strength but is one of the worst characters ever, as she uses that strength to sometimes punish the children of the elementary school for trivial reasons. For instance, she hammer-throws a student named Amanda in the air by her pigtails after telling her to cut them off.

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5) Les Grossman (Tropic Thunder)

Tom Cruise's rendition of Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder deserves to be on the list of horrible movie bosses. The volcanic temper of this studio executive is sure to cause issues for his employees.

In the Ben Stiller-directed movie, the first-time director, Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan), has a chaotic cast, and on top of that, he gets the ultimatum from the studio exec to cancel the project if it is not finished on time. Not just that, when a cast member, Tugg, played by Stiller himself, gets kidnapped, Les refuses to pay the ransom money, as his death would bring more money as a life insurance payout. His selfish and foul-mouthed personality would be the worst nightmare for any employee, be it in real life or fiction.

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4) John Milton (The Devil’s Advocate)

You might have heard people sometimes joking about their bosses being the devil, but in this Keanu Reeves movie, Al Pacino turns out to be a literal devil. In The Devil’s Advocate, Pacino’s Milton is the firm’s owner, where Reeves’s Kevin works.

Milton commits various evils, from tempting Kevin with money and wealth, which results in him neglecting his wife, which in turn destroys their relationship. Furthermore, he also infects Kevin’s wife, Maryanne, with nightmares and visions, using her own insecurities against her.

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3) Buddy Ackerman (Swimming with Sharks)

Whether a manipulating politician or a horrible boss, Kevin Spacey has ticked all the boxes playing despicable characters. Spacey’s character, Buddy Ackerman, is one of those characters who think that to achieve and reach their level of success, one has to suffer, just like they have.

In Swimming with Sharks, Spacey wreaks havoc in his new employee, Guy, a recent college graduate’s life by demeaning him in front of the whole office for trivial reasons. He also makes him overwork and run personal errands that are not required of Guy, but he still does it. Buddy is one of those relatable bosses that can always exist in the real world as well, making his character more hateful.

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2) Bill Lumbergh (Office Space)

Gary Cole’s Bill Lumbergh from Office Space might be one of the most horrible movie bosses, and the most horrifying part of it is that Bill’s character, in some ways, also appears realistic. His treatment of Peter and Milton in the movie, by overworking and berating the former and slumping the latter with menial tasks, is just an example of Lumbergh’s sinister ways of troubling his subordinates.

Another worst quality of Lumbergh would be his incompetence. Other than his ill treatment of his employees, Lumberg is also bad at his own job of being the Vice President when business consultants find faults in his management of the company.

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1) Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)

This Michael Douglas character from Wall Street is so blinded by his corruption that he thinks greed in any sense is good, as he says:

"Greed, for lack of a better word, is good."

Now a pop culture symbol of unchecked greed, Douglas’s character Gordon Gekko is a ruthless financier who is ready to sell all the Bluestar assets that he acquired over time, making himself and Charlie Sheen’s Bud rich. However, this greedy move of his will render all of the company’s staff unemployed. His decision reflects on how he doesn’t care about other people when it comes to money, which is the anchor for his unrestrained greed.

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