My Boss's Daughter (2003)

At the comic heart of MY BOSS’S DAUGHTER is the lovelorn heart of Tom Stansfield, which has unfortunately been captured by the one person he really can’t afford to fall in love with: his dangerously deranged boss’s daughter. Tom’s boss, Jack Taylor, is a neat freak, an egomaniacal tantrum-thrower and an anal perfectionist with a hair-trigger temper, not to mention a pretty scary guy when he’s mad. But, driven by ambition and love, Tom optimistically believes he can somehow win over Mr. Taylor and at the same time win Mr. Taylor’s daughter – a belief that has him heading straight for disaster.

To play Tom, the filmmakers chose Ashton Kutcher, best known for his popular role as the gorgeous but intellectually challenged Michael Kelso on television’s “That 70s Show.” Kutcher is quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s most sought-after young stars in many different genres, but with this film, he remains true to his roots by taking on the role of a funny and charming leading man.

“Ashton makes for the perfect young innocent,” says David Zucker. “You really see him come of age as Tom in this one crazy night. Here, he also gets a chance to use his very keen sense of comic timing, which has been honed from playing in front of live audiences week in and week out for years.”

Ashton Kutcher describes Tom as “a very put-upon guy.” He continues: “He’s really your average American guy who’s just out of college, trying to make his way in the world, but he hasn’t quite found the strength of his voice yet -- so everyone he meets takes advantage of him.”

Tom reminded Kutcher of a hero from the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s: a kind and charming, everyday sort of man caught up in outrageous circumstances beyond his control. For further inspiration, Kutcher held his own Cary Grant Film Festival. “I was interested to see how Cary Grant carried himself in these situations in films like ‘Bringing Up Baby’ where he’s a totally innocent bystander who gets drawn into a complete nightmare,” Kutcher explains.

Indeed, it was the film’s mix of wild mishaps, romantic comedy and lighthearted surprises that drew Kutcher to join the production not only as the star but also a producer. “I think after seeing so many shocker comedies lately, it gets harder and harder to make audiences laugh and David Zucker just knows how to make stuff funny,” he says. “This film is a style of comedy that hasn’t been seen for awhile – a comedy with a real story and a real heart to it. It was fun to be part of every aspect of it from the beginning.”

Kutcher’s portrait of Tom is that of the classic guy caught in the wrong place at the wrong time . . . every time. Tom is mild-mannered by nature, but when Jack Taylor comes between Tom and his heart’s one true desire, the sparks fly. Enter Terence Stamp, who plays the fire-spitting Taylor with venomous glee. “Terence can be a really scary guy on film,” notes David Zucker. “So much so that I was terrified of him the first time I met him, but he turned out to be quite nice, and also extremely funny.” Adds Ashton Kutcher: “The amazing thing about Terence is the subtlety that he brings – it might just be the twitch of an eye, but it always works.”

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