The experience of having a terrible boss is pretty much a universal one among people. It's no wonder then that so many conflicts in movies come down to the main characters having to overcome a bad boss at some point in the story. Often times the boss character represents an idea that the main character is opposed to or is simply a metaphor that's supposed to tie into the themes of that film.
This is the case in movies like The Incredibles and even Star Wars. With that in mind, here is a list of the worst bosses that have appeared on film.
8 Gilbert Huph (The Incredibles)
It must require a lot of nerve to yell, scream at and demean somebody as hulking as Mr. Incredible. Gilbert Huph is the exact kind of boss a former superhero would absolutely loathe to find themselves employed under. He's loud, obnoxious, egomaniacal, and worst of all, he cares little for the suffering of others. His character perfectly reflects the depressing shift in Bob Parr's life; even his villains are mundane.
Gilbert Huph doesn't destroy others with death rays; he does it with long hours and low pay. It's the evisceration of spirit rather than body that makes Hugh not only just an utterly terrible boss but a terrifyingly real villain that many are forced to deal with on a daily basis.
7 Willy Wonka (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Willy Wonka seems like a fun and exciting individual at first glance, but what he really is, is an utterly insane man who's lost his grip on reality. What's worse, he chooses to inflict his madness upon others. Setting aside the issue of the Oompa Loompas, their origin, their pay (which is just chocolate, by the way), and their hours - the conditions at Wonka's factory are simply horrific.
There seem to be zero safety guidelines for either employees or visitors. The man himself is also rather manic and does not act like a well-adjusted human in any sense. He willingly puts children in harm's way as means of teaching them a lesson of some sort; only there's no indication that they learned anything because it's not even clear that they survived the perils of his factory.
6 Dr. Julia Harris (Horrible Bosses)
For some, the idea of their attractive boss coming on to them can be a dream come true. For most people, however, it's an unwanted and creepy experience, especially for those already in a relationship. This is the case for Dale (Charlie Day), who can't seem to get his boss, Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston), to leave him alone.
Julia is a manipulative and often inappropriate boss, constantly making those who work for her uncomfortable due to her sexual advances. It gets so bad that the plot of horrible bosses partially revolves around Dale plotting to kill her. Of course, he doesn't actually go through with it, instead settling for some well-earned revenge upon Julia when he forces her to pay for his honeymoon via blackmail.
5 Miranda Priestly (The Devil Wears Prada)
Miranda Priestly is one of the best-known bad bosses in movies, with Meryl Streep even receiving an Oscar nomination for her performance in the role. Priestly is, first and foremost, a perfectionist to a pathological degree, and it bleeds into how she treats others. She doesn't yell and scream at her employees, instead choosing to exude a more reserved but nonetheless potent contempt for anything that does not meet her impossible standards.
She's derisive, exploitive, and even duplicitous if it means protecting her own career and status. She's the kind of boss that most people would dread having to interact with just for her aura alone, never mind the horrible things she has to say.
4 Cruella De Vil (101 Dalmatians)
It goes without saying that anyone who wishes to steal the fur coat of a puppy for profit is probably a bad person. Cruella De Vil goes the extra mile, and attempts to steal not just one puppy but 99 of them to make her spotted fur coat.
Setting all of that horribleness aside, however, Cruella is undoubtedly a criminal and arguably a sociopath, if not an outright psychopath. In the film 101 Dalmatians (1996), Cruella, portrayed by Glenn Close, instructs her subordinates to commit crimes numerous times, including breaking and entering, kidnapping, and animal cruelty, thus dragging others down with her insanity. She's a murderous megalomaniac that probably delights in the misery she authors, making her one of the absolute worst bosses anybody could work for.
3 Les Grossman (Tropic Thunder)
Movie executives aren't necessarily known for being the nicest people to work for, but Tropic Thunder's Les Grossman has to be one of the worst around. Les is more like a miniature gorilla than he is a man, mostly because of his temper and ungodly amount of body hair. Most of the time he's on-screen, he is yelling at someone, demanding something, or putting somebody down for some reason, sometimes doing all three at the same time.
Les is also hyper-concerned about money, specifically when it involves either him spending money or him potentially getting more money. He is perfectly willing to let Tugg Speedman be killed by his Laotian captors if it means a payday. All of this to say, impressive dance moves can't quite make up for despicable behavior.
2 J. Jonah Jameson (Spider-Man)
In many ways, J Jonah Jameson is Spider-Man's true arch-nemesis; only he doesn't fight him with his fists, instead choosing to ruin his reputation through the press. This is all fine and good, but how is he to actually work for? As far as that goes, though, that's not exactly great, either.
He is short-tempered, rude, and egocentric. He also doesn't seem to pay his employees all that well and often dangles termination over their heads on a whim. The only thing J.J is quicker to do than curse Spider-Man's existence is underappreciate the work his employees do for him. It's a wonder why anyone, let alone Peter Parker, would even work there when there are other newspapers in New York City.
1 Emperor Sheev Palpatine (Star Wars)
What more is there to say about the black-hearted tyrant, Emperor Palpatine? For starters, this is a man who, for years, orchestrated a bloody, galaxy-spanning civil war just so that he could be given ultimate power over the Republic. He also played a large role in the fall of Anakin Skywalker, turning him into his chief enforcer, Darth Vader, and ruining his life. That's his right-hand man, by the way, which means that things can only bode so well for everyone else suffering under his rule.
He commissioned the creation of not one but two planet-killing super weapons (the Death Star), ordered the destruction of countless species, and enslaved far more than that over the course of his decades-long reign. Indeed, there are few bosses worse than Emperor Palpatine.