Bardem’s performance, as a man who has spent a lifetime hiding his unethical behaviour behind the veneer of patrician affability and who seems to have lost his feel for what’s right and wrong, has a depth and complexity that seems to come from somewhere else.
The Good Boss(El buen patrón)
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Spain · 2021
2h 0m
Director Fernando León de Aranoa
Starring Javier Bardem, Manolo Solo, Almudena Amor, Óscar de la Fuente
Genre Comedy
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Julio Blanco is the charismatic CEO of a manufacturing company. He's preparing for the arrival of a national committee that could give the company a prestigious award, and is willing to do anything to improve his chances.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Little White Lies by David Jenkins
It’s a decently constructed piece of fluff that is way too soft to exert any real lasting impact. Yet the reason to see it is for Bardem’s masterful, completely committed lead turn. The real comedy gold comes from his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it expressions and mannerisms that usually come when he’s listening to other people talk.
At two hours, rather intricately stuffed with subplots ranging from frivolous to grimly consequential, “The Good Boss” struggles to pick up the pace when required: The laughs are there, but more spaced out than they could be.
The Hollywood Reporter by Jordan Mintzer
There’s lots on the menu, and León de Aranoa brings it all together in a smooth manner. But the jokes tend to be too broad, and the themes too tritely handled.
The Observer (UK) by Mark Kermode
An impressively slick and slimy performance from Javier Bardem is the standout selling point for this serviceable if (perhaps appropriately?) workaday satire on corporate corruption and alienated capitalism.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
The raffish charisma and sinister, saturnine handsomeness of Javier Bardem is what raises this movie above the standard of soap-opera … mostly.
Users who liked this film also liked
Belle Époque
A sexy, lusty uninhibited comedy.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain, Portugal, France • 1992
- Director Fernando Trueba
- Cast Penélope Cruz, Jorge Sanz, Ariadna Gil, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Maribel Verdú, Miriam Díaz-Aroca
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
A Good Marriage
(Le Beau Mariage)
- ✭ ✭
- France • 1982
- Director Éric Rohmer
- Cast Béatrice Romand, André Dussollier, Arielle Dombasle, Thamila Mezbah, Féodor Atkine, Vincent Gauthier
- Genre Drama, Comedy, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Sleeping Car Murder
(Compartiment tueurs)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1965
- Director Costa-Gavras
- Cast Jacques Perrin, Catherine Allégret, Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Claude Mann, Michel Piccoli
- Genre Crime
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Mouth to Mouth
(Boca a Boca)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 1995
- Director Manuel Gómez Pereira
- Cast Javier Bardem, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Josep Maria Flotats, María Barranco, Myriam Mézières, Kiti Mánver
- Genre Comedy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Holy Innocents
(Los santos inocentes)
One of the best Spanish film
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 1984
- Director Mario Camus
- Cast Alfredo Landa, Terele Pávez, Belén Ballesteros, Juan Sachez, Susana Sánchez, Francisco Rabal
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
What Richard Did
One summer night at a house party, teenage antics cross the line and a fight may have irreparable consequences.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ireland • 2012
- Director Lenny Abrahamson
- Cast Jack Reynor, Roisin Murphy, Fionn Walton, Gavin Drea, Patrick Gibson, Sam Keeley
- Genre Drama
- Available on Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Peacock, Peacock Premium, Freevee, Kanopy, Plex,
Strange Voyage
(El extraño viaje)
Two siblings, both developmentally disabled, confront their bully of a sister who schemes to steal their money.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 1964
- Director Fernando Fernán Gómez
- Cast Carlos Larrañaga, Tota Alba, Lina Canalejas, Rafaela Aparicio, Jesús Franco, Luis Marín
- Genre Comedy, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Video
Survival Family
(サバイバルファミリー)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2016
- Director Shinobu Yaguchi
- Cast Fumiyo Kohinata, Eri Fukatsu, Yūki Izumisawa, Wakana Aoi, Saburo Tokito, Norika Fujiwara
- Genre Comedy, Family
- Available on No streaming locations found.
An Unexpected Love
(El amor menos pensado)
A comedy of conscious uncoupling.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Argentina • 2018
- Director Juan Vera
- Cast Ricardo Darín, Mercedes Morán, Claudia Fontán, Andrea Pietra, Jean Pierre Noher, Norman Briski
- Genre Comedy, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
The Marriage Escape
(De Beentjes van Sint-Hildegard)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Netherlands • 2020
- Director Johan Nijenhuis
- Cast Herman Finkers, Johanna ter Steege, Leonie ter Braak, Ferdi Stofmeel, Stef Assen, Aniek Stokkers
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Escape from Mogadishu
(모가디슈)
In the Somali civil war, embassy staff from North and South Korea must come together if they want to make it out of the country alive.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2021
- Director Ryoo Seung-wan
- Cast Kim Yoon-seok, Jo In-sung, Heo Joon-ho, Kim So-jin, Jeong Man-sik, Koo Kyo-hwan
- Genre Action, Drama
- Available on Peacock, Rakuten Viki, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Plex,
The Rose Maker
(La Fine Fleur)
A rose grower facing bankruptcy enlists the help of three ex-convicts to save her company.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2020
- Director Pierre Pinaud
- Cast Catherine Frot, Melan Omerta, Fatsah Bouyahmed, Olivia Côte, Marie Petiot, Vincent Dedienne
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Freevee, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kanopy, Plex,
Both Sides of the Blade
(Avec amour et acharnement)
A woman's life spirals out of control when she becomes involved in a passionate love triangle.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2022
- Director Claire Denis
- Cast Juliette Binoche, Vincent Lindon, Grégoire Colin, Mati Diop, Hana Magimel, Bulle Ogier
- Genre Drama, Romance, Thriller
- Available on Hulu, AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Writing with Fire
Armed with smartphones, the journalists of India’s only female-run newspaper break traditions and tackle the country’s biggest issues.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- India • 2021
- Director Sushmit Ghosh, Rintu Thomas
- Cast Meera Devi, Suneeta Prajapati, Shyamkali Devi
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Hoopla, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Maixabel
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 2021
- Director Icíar Bollaín
- Cast Blanca Portillo, Luis Tosar, Urko Olazábal, María Cerezuela, Tamara Canosa, María Jesús Hoyos
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Utama
An elderly Quechua couple must decide if they want to leave their home and move to the city.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Bolivia, Uruguay, France • 2022
- Director Alejandro Loayza Grisi
- Cast José Calcina, Luisa Quispe, Santos Choque
- Genre Drama
- Available on Hoopla, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kino Now
Metronom
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Romania, France • 2022
- Director Alexandru Belc
- Cast Mara Bugarin, Alina Brezunteanu, Mara Vicol, Serban Lazarovici, Vlad Ivanov, Mihai Călin
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.