Review // The Boss

[projekktor id=’23703′]

The Boss is an after school special stretched out with curse words. Melissa McCarthy stars as Michelle Darnell, an orphan who turns her life around to become the 47^th richest woman in America. To put that in perspective, according to the Forbes 400 that would put her net worth somewhere around the $1.7-billion dollar mark. Notably there were only 46 woman listed in the 2015 Forbes 400, only 7 of whom were self-made billionaires. After being exposed to the SCC for insider trading by her business rival and former lover Renault (Peter Dinklage), Michelle is sentenced to five months in a minimum security prison. When she returns to the free world she finds that she is once again a poor orphan with nowhere to go. Luckily, her former assistant Claire (Kristen Bell) takes pity on her and allows Michelle to crash on the couch. When Michelle takes Claire’s daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson) to her Dandelions meeting the titan of industry is inspired to start a for-profit version of the non-profit girls club. Working in partnership with Claire, Michelle’s “Darnell’s Darlings” becomes a huge success. Not only is Michelle back in the business world, this time she’s actually forged herself a makeshift family in the process. The only problem is that family has never had a place in Michelle’s business life before, and it might ruin her new found success.

Time is mismanaged with interesting characters getting sidelined for bigger names. Kathy Bates’ cameo as Michelle’s former mentor is extended to a supporting role in an unnecessary scene where Bates agrees to invest in Darnell’s Darlings. Luckily despite limited screen time Tyler Labine, Timothy Simons and newcomer Eva Peterson still manage to make big impressions with their small roles. The best scene in the film is a no-holds barred brawl of Dandelions and Darlings midway through the film. While the scene is hilarious it is not cinematic or comedic enough to warrant the price of admission.

There’s a clear desire to tell a good story with developed characters, which is admirable, but The Boss basically reiterates a familiar fable and tries to make it risky with the addition of boob jokes. The film reeks of missed opportunities to push the characters and plot to insane, peeing in your pants hilarity. Instead bad words are peppered with elements of physical humour that might have been boundary pushing 14 years ago when the character was first developed.

Reviewed by Vithiya Murugadas.