THE BOSS: NOT IN CHARGE OF ANYTHING
Director: Ben Falcone
Screenplay: Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone, Steve Mallory
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 99 min
Rating: R
Release Date: April 8, 2016
The boss is about a lady, Michelle Darnell (Melissa McCarthy) who grew up in a group home, and through hard work and personal determination becomes a successful businesswoman. She quickly lands herself in jail for insider trading and after serving a short sentence she has to align herself with her former assistant (Kristen Bell) and her daughter as she looks to rise to the top of the business world and reclaim her wealth by starting her own girl scout program. All this she does under the watchful eye of her scorned lover turned business competitor Renault (Peter Dinklage).
Melissa McCarthy is typically funny in this film, with the same director taking part in this film that directed Tammy; Ben Falcone, her husband. Tammy was a bit of a lovers’ product from the two of them, since they both wrote the script and Ben directed it. Unfortunately, this film didn’t yield the positive result that you might think from two lovers. Tammy was heralded as a fail by most critics, and I agree.
Melissa largely carried The Boss largely by herself, with her only repartee occurring with Peter Dinklage’s character. This makes it eerily similar to Tammy, so the review doesn’t look to be promising either. Other actors like Kristen Bell gave the impression that they didn’t know why they were there, enhancing the comedic value of the film in no way whatsoever despite the amount of onscreen time she gets. Also, the story moves at a rushed pace that is unnatural, puzzling and makes the story almost difficult to follow and watch. Ben Falcone has appeared in minor cameos in Melissa’s other films, and this carried on in The Boss too. Not that I’m complaining, I find him very capable and I’m always wondering why he doesn’t take on larger roles. Their onscreen chemistry is hilarious and I think he should take on something where he can do more.
That being said the characters with much lesser roles play a large part in making watching this film a pleasurable experience. The girls especially provide great hilarity in their scenes, although it’s not enough to save this review. The Boss is not a very good movie, but it’s still worth a view. However Ben Falcone needs to stop directing his wife’s films and star in a few, and Melissa McCarthy needs to get a director who she’s had some success with such as Ben Feig (Director of Spy and The Heat ) in her next project, because the public has already given her two strikes with Tammy and this movie. You should look forward to the next film she’s in, because after this one, it’s sure to be amazing.
M.K
2.8/5
