Movie Reaction: The Boss

Formula: Troop Beverly Hills * Tammy + (Anchorman ^ -1)

I'll keep this one simple. This is probably the last movie of Melissa McCarthy's that I'll see that isn't directed by Paul Feig or a similarly strong filmmaker. McCarthy is very talented and can be incredibly funny. I love her commitment to physical comedy and few people delivery a string of profanity like her. When she wants, she can turn on her serious side and milk emotion out of any scene. All that is on display in The Boss. If that's all you're looking for, then I recommend this movie.


McCarthy plays Michelle Darnell, one of the richest women in the country. As a child, Michelle grew up in an orphanage, families never wanting her. She used that rejection to harden herself, which she used to succeed in business. Well, after some accidental insider trading, Michelle goes to prison for a few months. When she gets out, she's lost everything and realizes that she has no friends. For some reason, her old assistant, Claire (Kristen Bell), who she treated like crap, decides to let Michelle live with her and her daughter. Michelle then starts a brownie empire on the backs of otherwise-named Girl Scouts. Other things happen too. She has an old business rival (Peter Dinklage), a former mentor (Kathy Bates) who hates her now, and a grudge with one of the other moms (Annie Mumolo). It's a busy movie. There's entirely too much story for the number of jokes it tries to fit in.

There is just no consistency in this movie. I don't know what it's supposed to be and what I'm supposed to feel about the characters. The movie has no idea how the world is supposed to react to Michelle. Sometimes, she's incredibly famous. Other times, no one recognizes her. Sometimes, she's pleasant to deal with and makes you understand how she could schmooze her way up the corporate ladder. Other times, she's an impossible to deal with sociopath who I couldn't imagine even getting named assistant manager at a McDonald's. Whatever services the story in that moment is what they go with. There's a joke about her not knowing what Doritos are, which is totally fine if her background was that she was born rich. She's not though. She was an orphan and had to make her wealth. That's a small detail, sure, but it underlines a larger point. Mediocre comedies chase a punchline. Good or great comedies find the jokes that service the story.

McCarthy cowrote this with her husband, Ben Falcone, who directed this as well. They also did this for Tammy and had many of the same issues. She needs to work with people who are willing to tell her "No" or to not have this much control over the final product. She's a great performer and excellent at "punching up" a scene. She can make good material great. She can't make bad material good.
 And The Boss is bad material.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend