There is no denying that Melissa McCarthy is one of the best comedic actresses working in film today. She seemingly has no limits as to how far she will go to get a laugh. As such her films don’t even have to be inherently funny for McCarthy to get laughs. She has made some really strong films like Spy, St. Vincent and Bridesmaids, but probably an equal amount of bad ones like Tammy, Identity Thief and The Back-Up Plan. And we have arrived at the problem of The Boss. The film, directed by her husband Ben Falcone (Tammy), doesn’t even make a pretense of trying. This is just ninety-nine minutes of McCarthy looking for opportunities to do silly things. No attention is paid to plot or character development. God forbid!
There is only a shell of a story in which success story Michelle Darnell (Melissa McCarthy) rose up from her tough beginnings as an orphan at The Blessed Sisters of Mercy to become a very wealthy woman. Now a self-help financial titan she lives a life filled with excess. It all comes crashing down when an ex-lover (played by Peter Dinklage) rats on her to authorities and Michelle is tried and found guilty of insider trading.
After doing several months in a white collar jail, Michelle is released but everything has changed. Most critical is that she is broke. With no money Michelle forces herself into the life and home of her former assistant, Claire (played by Kristen Bell). Always a woman with a plan, Michelle convinces Claire and her daughter Rachel (played by Ella Anderson) to go into business making and selling Claire’s brownie recipe in direct competition with the Dandelions (equivalent of the Girl Guides).
Part of the problem is that they have made so much room for McCarthy to chew up the scenery that it leaves precious little room for anyone else. Most good comedies have a great supporting cast. In this Dinklage, Bell, Kristen Schaal and Kathy Bates are left in McCarthy’s dust rather than ably helping things along.
Several of the loads of physical and sight gags do make you laugh but that has more to do with the talent and likeability of Melissa McCarthy rather than the bits themselves. Most of the time you just sit there in a state of discomfort. You are thinking that someone with the talent and range of McCarthy deserves better.
Special Features:
-Unrated and Theatrical Versions
-Digital Copy
-Alternate Ending
-Deleted Scenes
-Extended/Alternate Scenes
-Gag Reel
-Peter Dinklage Gets to the Point
-Michelle Darnell – Original Sketch
-Everybody Loves Kristen Bell
-Origin Story
