Score: 4 out of 5
This is film review 14
Melissa McCarthy struts herself with style, which includes a turtleneck in every scene she shows up in with frizzy red hair; in her husband’s, Ben Falcone’s new movie ‘The Boss’. From the first moment we see her shout at a crowd as if she were a motivational speaker, this movie seems like it’s trying too hard for pop-culture references, celebrity cameos (Kathy Bates as her former supporter, Ida Marquette), and crude, yet unnecessary, sex jokes that would make any pastor blush. I have to disagree with the tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes (17%) by saying that I had a good time watching ‘The Boss’.
In ‘The Boss,’ McCarthy plays Michelle Darnell, a woman who is at the top of her game and CEO of a company where she claims to be the “47th richest woman in America”. She is supported by her associates, Claire (Kristen Bell)- a struggling single mother who is not ready to get back into the dating game who is trying to take care of her only daughter, Rachel (Ella Anderson) -and Tito (Cedric Yarbrough), who only shows up for a few scenes to agree with Darnell and crack up some unfunny jokes. The plot unfolds when Darnell gets arrested for insider trading. She ends up getting released, but not before her life starts going into shambles; she loses her mansion and is forced into staying with Claire and Rachel, who find it a struggle with her making sexual comments, spray tanning every inch of her body in the morning, or swearing up a storm.
Darnell gets an idea to step up her game and bounce back after taking Rachel to a Brownie Troop Scout meeting where she causes a fuss with just about everyone there, including a mother named Helen (Annie Mumolo), who becomes her rival. She decides to start up a brownie troop called “Darnell’s Darlings,” with the recruits being not only Rachel, but an assortment of crafty little girls, including a tall girl named Chrystal (Eva Peterson). The jokes involving these girls are just as shocking as Darnell’s profane mouth and shows she’s not a good role model, but it’s hard not to get a chuckle from the things she says in front of these children.
McCarthy proves that she can be a good comedic actor with films like ‘Tammy’ and ‘Spy.’ ‘The Boss’ happens to be in her top form; not with just the hairstyling and her charm, but with the jokes. Not all of them work, but if a smile was placed on my face during the majority of this film, then the film has done its job as a comedy. Plotwise, ‘The Boss’ is jumbled with Darnell not only starting her brownie empire, but also dealing with an ex-lover (Peter Dinklage), who wants to get revenge on her. Additionally, the film is also charming and fun, leaving me with hope for comedies in the future. Now here’s hoping the new ‘Ghostbusters’ (also starring McCarthy) can do the same with its leading ladies.
Jon Spencer Reviews 