Review of The Boss (2016) by Horcrux2007 — 15 Apr 2016

To start off, if you don't like Melissa McCarthy, just don't go see The Boss. It's not some surprise role where she showcases her broad dramatic acting talent that will be loved and adored the world over.

It's a Melissa McCarthy comedy, and I look for two things in comedies: a relatively likable atmosphere and, ya know, comedy. Funny comedy. The Boss has just enough of both of those to recommend to a comedy fan even if it's not as strong as McCarthy's work with Paul Feig.

In The Boss, business tycoon Michelle Darnell is sent to prison for insider trading, and after she's released from prison five months later, Michelle is ready to rebuild her fortune at any cost. She is taken in by an old employee, Claire Rawlins, whose to-die-for brownies present the perfect opportunity to build another dynasty.

With the help of Claire, her daughter and her girl scout troop, Michelle starts the brownie making business, but Michelle learns that people she screwed over in the past aren't so quick to forgive and forget.

Melissa McCarthy has a knack for making the most despicable characters actually seem someone likable (maybe that's just because I can relate to an arrogant power-hungry business tycoon?), so you never outright hate Michelle Darnell.

She grew up moving around several foster families, so it's hard not to show some sympathy towards her character and why she ended up so narcissistic. Although some of the jokes fall flat, there are two more jokes to make up for it, and there's some hilariously memorable lines in The Boss.

Although it's not as consistently funny as some of her other work, The Boss should please Melissa McCarthy fans until Ghostbusters this summer.