The Horrible Bosses Callback You Missed In Ozark
While Jason Bateman is mostly known for his comedic roles on projects like Arrested Development, he's finally gotten a chance to show off his more dramatic side on Netflix's Ozark.
Bateman plays Marty Byrde, a money launderer who moves his family to the Ozarks region of Missouri after a scheme he set up for the Mexican cartel goes wrong. While his family's in a new location, they quickly get into the same problems as they soon find themselves entangled with local criminals, like the Kansas City Mafia. Marty's done a lot of bad things on the show, which is why he's one of TV's best antiheroes, but Bateman's background in comedy still makes for some more light-hearted moments on the series.
Whether it was an intentional reference or not, fans have pointed to a moment on Ozark that calls back to one of Bateman's most beloved comedic films.
Fans point out the 'sleeve-gloves' reference from Horrible Bosses on Ozark
You may not expect a lot of similarities between a gritty crime drama and a goofy comedy. However, Redditor u/angitude pointed out a moment from Ozark that looks like it may have been inspired by Horrible Bosses.
In the 2011 comedy, Nick (Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day), and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) are scoping out one of their bosses' pads. They don't want to leave behind any fingerprints, but since they lack gloves, they have to roll up their sleeves to cover their hands. This gets them into some trouble when Dale handles a container of cocaine with his sleeves on and ends up dropping it on the floor, leading Nick to respond, "I really don't want to touch it. I don't have sleeve-gloves."
It's a hilarious moment for how understated the line delivery is, and all these years later, it seems like Bateman has finally gotten ahold of those precious sleeve-gloves. The Reddit post shows a scene from Ozark where Marty's handling something in the kitchen with his sleeves rolled up to cover and protect his hand.
Some of the comments further down in the thread find more fans buying into the connection, saying, "Bateman loves sleeve gloves." Redditor u/Conthortius even managed to tie the scene to Arrested Development: "Sleeve-gloves could have stopped him getting burns from the CornBaller."
When you handle as many hot and/or illegal substances as Bateman's characters, it's probably a good idea at this point for him to invest in a pair of gloves. Perhaps that will be the newest development with his character on season 4 of Ozark.