Melissa McCarthy's latest collaboration with her director husband Ben Falcone falls flat despite McCarthy being in good form and surrounded by a strong cast
There appear to be two kinds of Melissa McCarthy movies: the good ones, and the ones she makes with her husband, director Ben Falcone.
And although their latest collaboration is superior to 2014's Tammy, The Boss is pretty much a by-the-numbers comedy that comes nowhere near last year's Spy, which saw her on top form.
This time round McCarthy plays Michelle Darnell, 'the 47th wealthiest woman in America,' who gets convicted of insider trading and loses everything. Well, she'd no friends or family, but now her money's gone, and even the hangers-on are elsewhere.
On the way to the top Darnell let nothing get in her way and apparently earned her fortune by being aggressive, ruthless and extremely foul-mouthed. Par for the sociopathic course you might say.
A possible saviour comes in the shape of her former assistant, Claire (played by Kristen Bell doing a fine job in a straight role), who reluctantly offers Darnell a chance at redemption.
McCarthy is great, as always, but the script and story is predictable. After seeing an opportunity to get back on the money-making ladder, she goes into business with Claire.
As well as offering her former boss a roof over her head and a helping hand, Claire also aims to show Darnell that there's nothing wrong with liking people and being, like, you know, nice.
The cast is pretty good - it includes Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones and Veep's Timothy C Simons, as well as Kathy Bates and a cameo from the great Margot Martindale - but the writing and plot are almost transparent, and you could drive a fleet of double deckers through its predictability.
The Boss is unmissable, but only for hardcore and completist Melissa McCarthy fans.
John Byrne
