In the overabundance of bureaucratic comedies, Lars von Trier‘s The Boss of It All is predictably irreverent in its predictability. Audience winking and editing ill-suited to this dry humor sabotage a solid premise for an ignoble, possibly pretentious meta goal. It’s more “clever” than funny, but is it really? The satire being as bland as it is, being funny would’ve been much preferred. The narrative’s poorly placed exposition and lackluster detailing of characters ruins joke setups and any core heart.