Movie Reaction: Like a Boss

Formula: The Spy Who Dumped Me - the spy

Like this 83 minute movie, I'll try to be brief about this. I love a comedy about a couple of friends. Let me be clear, I don't mean frenemies, unlikely duos, opposites forced to work together, estranged friends, former enemies united by the same cause, or family members. I mean a movie about a two or more people who have a long history together and have remained active friends. I get why these aren't more common. It's much easier to write comedy from conflict. Strangers get to constantly surprise each other. Enemies have a lot of reasons to butt head. People who have gotten along for years are more challenging, because they have to be written as a unit. It's not them vs. each other. It's them vs. the world. They can fight with each other, but the default position is a deep affection for each other. That's what really won me over about The Spy Who Dumped Me a couple years ago. It's a pretty mediocre comedy in terms of jokes, but Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon had such an easy chemistry with each other. Everything they did had a history to it. That's the main reason why Superbad, Booksmart, Good Boys, and so many other movies work for me.

It shouldn't be surprising then, that Like a Boss worked for me. It's not an exceptionally clever or hilarious movie. It's a buddy comedy with a couple able performers in it. That's all I really need. Rose Byrne and Tiffany Haddish play owners of a local cosmetics shop who sell a stake of their company to a cosmetics conglomerate owned by Salma Hayek to get out from crippling debt. Hayek then tries to pit the two friends against each other as a way to get full control of their company. You can guess most of the beats of the story going in, and that's fine.

Haddish broke big a couple years ago with Girls Trip, although she'd been around for years. So far, I've been impressed by how well she's reeled herself in. Unlike Melissa McCarthy, who had a similar breakout a decade earlier, Haddish matches he costar's energy, only unleashing her energy when the moment calls for it. She hasn't steamrolled a single movie I've seen yet, even though she easily could. Meanwhile, it's been a lot of fun seeing Byrne improve as a comedic performer over the years. A decade ago, she could not have carried a lead role like this in a comedy. Haddish's energy would've walked all over her. But, in 2009, she got into that Judd Apatow/Nick Stoller/Paul Feig comedy circle, starting with supporting roles (Get Him to the Greek, Bridesmaids, Spy) and moving to lead roles (Neighbors, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising). Now, she's at the point where she can be in a movie like Instant Family without a comedy specialist (sorry Mark Wahlberg) and make it work. So, the two meet in Like a Boss as equals. They have a great back and forth. Neither gets stuck playing the straight woman.

Salma Hayek isn't as great in this. She's a bit too cartoonish, which, to be fair, is kind of the point. I wish her punchlines over the years would've moved past "Yes, I am quite attractive, and I know it." I was pleased to see Billy Porter and Jennifer Coolidge in supporting roles as Byrne and Haddish's employees. The movie is very aware of what makes them funny but doesn't overuse them. They even get a couple serious moments, which is especially refreshing to see for Coolidge.

This is a silly little comedy. It's a little dirtier than I expected, but that's my fault. It is a Tiffany Haddish comedy after all. No grapefruits though. I'd love it if I could find one comedy this solidly enjoyable every month. 

Verdict: Weakly Recommend