Melissa McCarthy continues her usual schlock in The Boss and teaming up with her director/husband following the atrocious Tammy, this might be a step above that movie but not by much as the laughs are few and far between and worse yet, is kind of mean-spirited at times.
The Boss
(2016)
Genre(s): Comedy
Universal | R/Unrated – 99 min. / 104 min. – $34.98 | July 26, 2016
Date Published: 07/31/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 1.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Michelle Darnell (MELISSA MCCARTHY) is a titan of industry who is sent to prison for insider trading by former co-worker and lover turned rival Renault (PETER DINKLAGE). After doing her time, Michelle emerges broke and homeless, ready rebrand herself as America’s latest sweetheart, but not everyone she steamrolled is so quick to forgive and forget. With nowhere to go and no one to scam, Michelle is forced to move in with former assistant Claire (KRISTEN BELL) and her young daughter, Rachel (ELLA ANDERSON). Now at her lowest point, Michelle wastes no time in devising a winner-take-all plan to rebuild her empire. Quick Hit Review: The Boss is the newest movie from Melissa McCarthy and hubby/co-writer/director Ben Falcone following the horrible comedy, Tammy and while certainly this isn’t as bad, it’s not a whole lot better. The jokes rarely land and the character McCarthy plays is, generally speaking, unpleasant and mean-spirited. Add in Kristen Bell and Peter Dinklage, who I normally find funny, are utterly wasted, Dinklage especially. Kathy Bates also makes a brief appearance as Darnell’s mentor though it’s another opportunity that resulted in zero laughs.
While not as bad as Tammy, which in itself was an atrocious “comedy”, as this at least made me chuckle once, The Boss is a poorly scripted, badly acting film that will be yet another forgotten movie in McCarthy’s filmography where the highlights are, for me anyway, Bridesmaids (which is overrated but still funny) and Spy (again, overrated and only worked due to Jason Statham and Rose Byrne). |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This release comes with a title-embossed slip cover. Inside is a DVD Copy and a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Included are both the Theatrical and Unrated Versions, which runs about 6-minutes longer. Alternate Ending: Falcon Rangers (2:00; HD) – This ending finds the “Darnell’s Darlings” going up against the “Falcon Rangers”. No surprise, not very funny… Deleted Scenes (14:10; HD) – There are 10 scenes that didn’t make the cut (either one). Nothing noteworthy here. Extended/Alternate Scenes (16:15; HD) – Yep, there’s even more unused footage. Gag Reel (3:54; HD) – As you can imagine, the cast had a good old time cracking one another up. Michelle Darnell: Original Sketch (7:25; HD) – You get to watch the inspiration behind McCarthy’s character as performed on a stage. Origin Story (7:16; HD) delves into the iconic Groundlings Theater where many comedians traveled through including McCarthy and others. Peter Dinklage Gets to the Point (8:41; HD) looks at the veteran actor and the character he portrays. Everybody Loves Kristen Bell (6:50; HD) covers Bell and her take on the character. |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Universal Pictures Home Entertainment releases The Boss on Blu-ray presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). Given this is a comedy, the color palette is on the bright side though there are a few darkly lit shots that look stark and show no major signs of artifacts and aliasing. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The disc comes with a standard but effective enough DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which provides crisp and clear dialogue levels while other elements, like ambient noises, is a tad soft. There’s not much action save for the finale so it is a limited lossless track lacking depth although the generic score/soundtrack resonates fairly well. |
OVERALL – 2.0/5 |
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Overall, Melissa McCarthy continues her usual schlock in The Boss and teaming up with her director/husband following the atrocious Tammy, this might be a step above that movie but not by much as the laughs are few and far between and worse yet, is kind of mean-spirited at times. The talented supporting cast isn’t given much to work off of, especially Peter Dinklage playing the villain. Even if you are a die-hard McCarthy fan, this is one to skip. The Blu-ray released by Universal offers so-so bonus material and good video/audio transfers. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.