I have to admit I didn’t have high hopes for The Boss. Melissa McCarthy seems to be getting progressively worse at choosing movie roles. She started out great with Spy, floundered with Tammy, and now, the worst one yet, The Boss, truly underestimates her potential.
This time, Mellissa McCarthy plays Michelle Darnell, a woman who is sent to prison after she’s caught for insider trading. When she emerges ready to rebrand herself as America’s latest sweetheart, not everyone she screwed over is so quick to forgive and forget. McCarthy is joined in The Boss by an all-star cast led by Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage and Kathy Bates. Directed by Ben Falcone (Tammy), the comedy is based on an original character created by McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Falcone.
Put bluntly, this isn’t a particularly good comedy. While the premise is interesting, if a bit overdone, it doesn’t pan out. The movie relies too heavy on sight gags and obvious jokes, missing the opportunity for a better, smarter comedy.
The bits are rehashed from other better movies. The Girl Scout fight, the mismatched buddy duo, the cold hearted business woman growing a heart, they’re all done to death tropes, warmed over for an audience who that laughing.
It’s almost like McCarthy is holding herself back by letting her husband continue to write these movies for her. I’m sorry, but I don’t think his strengths lie in comedy. McCarthy is more than just sight gags and one liners. Unfortunately, her range is stifled into clichéd roles with contrived endings.
Melissa McCarthy carries the movie, that’s for sure. The only thing even remotely amusing about this is her. Even then, jokes that come on too strong and stay too long left this viewer not finding a chuckle worthy moment.
I wish we could see the McCarthy of Spy and Bridesmaids again, the one who didn’t rely on clichés but instead went for the unexpected joke. The one who surprised us by twisting the clichés, not leaning on them like crutches.
This unfortunate film fell short of her talent and some of the problem might be her costars. While Kristen Bell plays well across from less dynamic personalities, in this role, she drowned. There was a secondary storyline involving her, but I really wasn’t invested enough to pay attention. She was nothing more than another inanimate object McCarthy bounced jokes off of.
Dinklage was another one that I just didn’t feel fit the role. How many times have we seen him play this character? I feel like in the past few movies I’ve seen him in, he’s always playing the button down business man who’s secretly shady. While he stands a bit better next to McCarthy than Bell does, even he’s overshadowed.
It’s a disappointing effort that’s slowly starting to turn me off all McCarthy films. It reminds me a bit of the demise of Chris Farley’s career, where he went from playing characters to clichés. As a result, not worth the watch.
WE GAVE IT: 2 Stars – Watch the Official Trailer and Official Movie Poster below!
