Charlie Day, the next big-screen comedy star: We like the sound of that

Image Credit: Aaron Rapoport/FXIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Charlie Day, along with Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, is in talks to star in the big-screen comedy Horrible Bosses directed by Seth Gordon (Four Christmases, The King of Kong). According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film, long in the works, revolves around three best friends (Day, Bateman, and actor TBA), who decide that the only way to end their miserable work lives is to kill one another’s bosses. Per the trade, Bateman’s character is pissed that he’s gotten passed over for a promotion, while Day plays a “hapless guy who’s always in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Aniston would play one of the three bosses, a “sexually aggressive dentist” who hits on Day. Colin Farrell is also in talks to play another of the bosses, which leaves one of the upper management roles open as well.

As hilarious as this sounds, what really excited me was a line in the story about why Day was approached: Insiders are buzzing that he’s a scene-stealer in the August Drew Barrymore/Justin Long comedy Going the Distance. Are we surprised? In a PopWatch poll before Sunny’s fifth season premiere, 67 percent of readers said his character, also named Charlie, was their favorite on the show. And this was before any of the scenes embedded after the jump aired. What makes Day special is his ability to play dumb and twisted and still be likable. I always find myself wanting to hug him. The Horrible Bosses part sounds perfect for him. How many horribly misguided plans have we seen him be a party to on Sunny? And how often are you rooting for him?

So here’s hoping Day becomes the next big-screen comedy star. Note to casting directors: Even if fans would actually be fine with him playing the same child-like “Charlie” role over and over again (he’s that good), we’ll accept him in more mature roles, too. We know it takes a lot of talent to play someone that clueless that well. Also, judging by the amount of boos heard during Sunny‘s live The Nightman Cometh stage tour when the Waitress (Day’s real-life wife Mary Elizabeth Ellis) turned down Charlie’s proposal, we’d even like to see him play someone who gets the girl.