My local theater didn’t get Elvis vs. Nixon, Everybody Wants Some, or Miles Ahead so I was relegated to seeing The Boss. I went in with little desire to sit through the brief 99 minutes the film was offering. I like Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Bell, but the trailer really looked kind of dumb. I did laugh more than I expected, but I rolled my eyes often and though the story was a bit erratic earning The Boss the Not a total Waste of Time rating.
The “plot” of The Boss.
Michelle Darnell (Melissa McCarthy) loses everything after being sent to prison for insider training by an old rival. Determined to rebuild her lost fortune, she teams up with her former assistant Claire (Kristen Bell) and her daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson) as she starts up a Darnell’s Darlings, a girl scout knock-off.
My biggest issue with this film is the over-the-top slapstick humor. The scene in the trailer where the sofabed slams her into the wall warned me about this potentially comedy killing device. It occurs a couple of times in the film and many people laughed when they happened. To me, McCarthy is capable of better than the last couple of films she has done. I haven’t seen Spy yet, but her performance in Saint Vincent was so great and it was nice and underplayed.
Kristen Bell is great in this film and my favorite parts were her and Tyler Labine’s interactions. I really enjoyed both of those characters throughout the film. Claire is a good mother who tries really hard to do things correctly and Mike (Labine) is a co-worker who gets a crush on her. Some of the funniest jokes in the film revolve around their interactions.
Peter Dinklage is an odd character in the film and feels like a forced antagonist. The story jumps around a bunch to try and establish conflict that never feels fully developed. I don’t expect comedies to have the best stories, but I do prefer comedies with at least a coherent one or at least one that feels well thought out. The conflict between Darnell and Renault (Dinklage) is a little crazy and has some funny moments, but again doesn’t even feel needed for the purposes of the plot. The interactions with Rachel and Michelle are some of the best moments though and could have easily have carried the story without the sillier moments.
The film isn’t horrible though and there are enough laughs to make it fairly enjoyable. I hope that Melissa McCarthy gets more opportunities to show her acting ability that don’t require her being typecast in these roles. I hope to watch Spy soon to see if that is as funny as I hear it is.
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