No doubt that actress Melissa McCarthy has become a pop cultural phenomenon within the last few years. She has hit the jackpot in a career gone on a whirlwind upswing. McCarthy has just ended a six-year run from her Emmy-winning turn on the popular CBS sitcom Mike and Molly. She was Oscar-nominated for her performance in Bridesmaids. She has made a slew of hit-and-miss comedies. Her hosting stints on the legendary Saturday Night Live are riotous. McCarthy is part of the much-talked about upcoming female version of the wildly treasured 80's cult classic comedy Ghostbusters. Additionally, ardent fanatics of the 2000-2007 WB network TV series Gilmore Girls recently rejoiced when McCarthy agreed to join the Netflix revival show that previously endeared her to television audience years before. So yes...to say that Melissa McCarthy is on a continued roll with her ubiquitous presence in TV and movies is an understatement.
In McCarthy's latest broad comedy The Boss she and her husband Ben Falcone ("Bridesmaids") collaborate as they--along with Steve Mallory--co-wrote the script with Falcone taking over the directorial duties. In fact, both McCarthy and Falcone co-wrote the 2014 vehicle Tammy starring McCarthy with Falcone in the director's chair as well. So it is a relief to see how this Hollywood couple bond creatively over their film projects. However, it is not all that encouraging that the Falcones have subsided over generic laughfests.
On the surface The Boss could be perceived as a wacky female empowerment romp but dig deeper and this lackluster comedy has all the one-note comical deepness of a frizzled Phyllis Diller wig. McCarthy plays the brash and blistery Michelle Darnell, a Martha Stewart-esque CEO financial wizard with a convincing pretty penny that makes up her unbelievable fortune. In fact, Michelle happens to be the 47th wealthiest woman in America. Unfortunately, the law caught up with Michelle so now she is behind bars for inside trading.
After months of doing "hard time" (in reality "soft time" for the jailed demanding diva), Michelle is released where she learns of her frozen assets and diminutive ex-lover and rival entrepreneur Renault (Peter Dinklage) who has taken over her multi-million dollar companies. With nowhere to turn for support Michelle decides to intrude on her long-suffering former personal assistant Claire (Kristen Bell). The tolerant Claire is a single mother to 10-year old Rachel (Ella Anderson). As one can imagine the insufferable Michelle is a terror in poor Claire's household with her bossy demeanor. Apparently Claire's nastiness is just not reserved for Claire as she has plenty of scorn to go around for the ones who dare to step in her way.
Soon, Michelle discovers a way to get back into the capitalism game and recapture her status as a wealth-driven Wonder Woman. The agenda involves Rachel's Dandelion troop as inspiration for Michelle scheming to recruit the outcast girls from the Dandelions (dubbed "Darnell's Darlings) to sell the exceptional brownies based upon Claire's crafty recipe. Naturally, Michelle is hard on the little gals to push her need for reaching success but in her own caring way she wants to educate the Darlings to become strong, independent future businesswomen armed with potential power and poise. With Michelle's sad-sack backstory as a rejected little girl raised in a Catholic orphanage where many foster homes denied her existence it is clear that the seemingly cold and calculating Michelle does not want her hardship to be repeated in the group of girls she is grooming for the kill of conquering the business world.
The Boss has some slapstick moments that are passable and the always game McCarthy is willing to do what it takes to sell the zany goods to ensure the hefty chuckles. Playing hard-nose harlots such as the coarse Michelle Darnell is McCarthy's specialty and she is effective when the material supports her tyrannical pushiness. However, The Boss feels lackluster because McCarthy's sketchy bits are slight and the movie's basic follow-the-dots lunacy is never on par with McCarthy's bombastic business-minded bulldog. The movie feels cheaply lifted from the hybrid boundaries of 1989's Troop Beverly Hills paired with 1988's Big Business.
Thankfully, The Boss is not as tepid or forgettable as McCarthy's other outings such as the aforementioned Tammy or Identity Theft. On the flip side, this toothless romp will never rub shoulders with the more acceptable McCarthy staples in Bridesmaids, The Heat or Spy either. In short, this particular Boss ought to be demoted to the unemployment line.
The Boss (2016)
Universal Pictures
99 mins.
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, Ella Anderson, Kathy Bates, Tyler Labine
Directed by: Ben Falcone
MPAA Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Critic's rating: ** stars (out of 4 stars)
(c) Frank Ochieng