The Boss **

To Melissa McCarthy fans, any film with her mouth running wild, delivering her trademark bluntness will thrill. The Boss is such a like/loathe character – and film – that offers exactly that. It’s a McCarthy vehicle, though a somewhat cliched one that’s plain silly, but could have been a whole lot more.

McCarthy is mega-wealthy, cutthroat business tycoon Michelle Darnell who gets arrested for inside trading, after being set up by former colleague/lover Renault (Peter Dinklage). Part of the fallout of her dismantled empire is felt by her long-suffering personal assistant, mum-of-one Claire (Kristen Bell) who is made redundant and has to take a job she hates even more.

When family-wary Darnell is released from prison, the only ‘friend’ she has in the world is Claire, who invites her to stay to get back on her feet. Darnell seizes the opportunity to rebrand herself, after visiting Claire’s daughter Rachel’s (Ella Anderson) scout club, by building a cookie empire. However, Darnell has made many enemies in the business world and some are still less than forgiving.

This is another husband-and-wife collaboration, both in writing and directing, much like the underwhelming Tammy (2014). The concept of both films co-written by McCarthy and hubby Ben Falcone should just breeze off the page with clever gags and character depth, but there just seems to be a lazy superficiality to it all, which is a crying shame.

Darnell is the perfect McCarthy study who should have been written as a more multifaceted character – especially with the family issues aspect that gets glossed over at the beginning as a bit of a joke. This doesn’t mean the proceedings can’t be slapstick, but there just is more superior comedy to be had, waiting in the wings. It’s just disappointing.

Although McCarthy is always fun to watch, the person who comes out best from all this is Bell, who gets to show a little more depth; sadly though, not her on-screen daughter Anderson whose young wings are clipped delivering the standard ‘cutesy affair’ as the childlike moral gauge. Anderson alone could have tackled something more meaty too.

To add to the daftness, Dinklage is a minature ballbuster in this – “again”. There are some genuninely funny moments between McCarthy and him but they blend into one, as the same joke is peddled. Indeed, the off-key ‘adult’ gags feel weird most of the time, in something that can’t quite decide whether it wants to be ‘below the belt’ or not in the humour stakes, especially as it feels very PG-rated rather than 15 the majority of the time.

For sheer McCarthy value, The Boss is highly entertaining though, especially as the anti-heroine disperses with ‘obstacles’ in her path to rebirth. The ending is uber predictable but necessary. In fact, The Boss never actually builds up to much. It’s like another notch on the couple’s comedy bedpost really – like Tammy, there to keep the McCarthy love alive but really done to pay the couple’s bills.

2/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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