The Boss (2016): You may not know this but The Boss is actually a love story - but that has nothing to do with what's on screen. Directed by Melissa McCarthy's husband, funnyman Ben Falcone, the film suffers from a googly-eyed over-reliance on his spectacular wife's ability to chew the scenery, to the detriment of the film as a whole. Don't worry, though - you'll still laugh your ass off.
The premise of this flick is cute: Michelle Darnell, a soulless capitalist hybrid of Donald Trump and Martha Stewart (also known as "the 47th wealthiest woman in America") is running an empire complete with stadium-sized public speaking engagements and an insistence that "money talks and shit walks". Even the font she uses is obnoxious and distinctly Trump-like. The film begins with her fall from grace - she's thrown in prison for insider trading and can't wiggle out of serving her time. Post-prison, she's become a pariah in the circles of power she once controlled. Alone, broke and with not a single place to go, she end up slithering back to her former assistant Claire (Kristen Bell) for a place to crash. Claire is a busy single mom who lives modestly with her pre-teen daughter so the well worn fish-out-of water tropes are hit on the nose as Michelle drags her Hermès and Goyard bags into the tiny apartment.
From there, an undercooked plot about turning a delicious brownie recipe into an empire using the girl guide cookie model for corporate profit kicks off. It's a silly idea and a tough plot to follow or care about. Some fun turns from Peter Dinklage as her ex-lover/ nemesis and Kathy Bates as her scorned mentor can't save the film as a whole or make it more interesting. It feels like an SNL sketch that's gone on too long and even the orphan-afraid-of-love back story can't revive it.
But let me be clear - this movie is funny. I laughed out loud. I even snorted a couple of times. But it was always a result of a line delivery or a gesture or some physical comedy that was served up expertly. It's a bunch of REALLY funny moments hung on a flimsy script (co-written by McCarthy and Falcone).
What could have helped? First of all, throw Kristen Bell overboard. She's as cold as a dead eel in this role and has zero chemistry with her co-stars. This really surprised me since I was a fan of Veronica Mars and always thought of her as a sparkplug but her battery is dead in this role. Second of all, a little more focus on the ride, please and thank you. We know we're gonna laugh, but the best comedies (The First Wives Club, Bridesmaids, 9-5, The Devil Wears Prada) give us a juicy plot, incredible comedic chemistry and some REAL heart that doesn't feel tacked on.
And lastly - if it ain't broke, don't fix it. After their magical collaborations on Heat and Spy, Melissa McCarthy is in such a fantastic groove with director Paul Feig, it's a shame to see her in less capable hands. Falcone might be the love of her life, but she she's a comedy Stradivarius and, at this point, she should only be handled by a maestro.