The Boss (R)

Melissa McCarthy is at it again with “The Boss,” a cute comedy, even if it lacks the emotional punch of last year’s “Tammy,” or her Sandra Bullock team-up, “The Heat.” Chaotic at times, and offering side-splitting humor (although in small doses), this is a film that will please fans of McCarthy’s work, even if it brings little new to the table in the process.

McCarthy is here Michelle Darnell, a self-made millionaire who made her fortune despite growing up in an orphanage without parents. Rejection has lined Michelle’s past, and she avoids the word “family” at all costs. This is hammered home as she grows angry during a TV interview when the host brings up her past. However, the point is quickly lost as she is arrested for insider trading, the end result of a supposed slight against her ex-lover and friend Renault (Peter Dinklage). Upon release, Michelle tries to renew her image by connecting with her old assistant Claire (Kristen Bell) and starts a fledgling brownie-selling-business with her and her precocious daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson).

Humor-wise, “The Boss” has the right stuff, and it’s clear McCarthy has mastered her brand of crass/loveable humor by now. McCarthy has a way of dropping an f-bomb in one scene, only to be endearing in the next, and somehow blends these together flawlessly across her many movies. Scenes in this film, such as where she threatens a Girl Scout mom who takes offense to her parolee status are rightly funny, as is her mania when she discusses her business plan with Claire at 4 am. And another scene, where she and her newfound Girl Scout troop engage in a street fight with rival Scouts is so funny you’ll be near tears by the end.

Acting wise the film is fine, and aside from McCarthy, the rest of the cast performs well. I really liked Bell in this role, a single mom trying to work a job she can’t stand while providing for her daughter. She resists Michelle’s seemingly crazy plan for as long as she can before caving in and wanting to help, despite her gut telling her not to. It was also a change, seeing Bell in a role like this, aside from her sleuth beginnings in “Veronica Mars,” or her one-sided role in the comedy “Forgetting Sara Marshall.” She is very likeable and capable throughout this film.

Ella Anderson, as her daughter, is a joy in the film, aligning with McCarthy well and having great chemistry. Certainly the cutest scene in the film is where she makes a card for Michelle, welcoming her into their family, even as Michelle struggles to internalize what this means. We also see a nice performance from Tyler Labine who plays an office co-worker. I’ve liked Labine since 2005’s “Aurora Borealis,” and here he gets much more screen time and a better role to work with.

Regrettably, the one character I didn’t like in this film was Dinklage’s Renault. Sure, he’s funny enough, but is little more than plot mechanism, and an outrageous one at that. Some scenes are funny, such as a sword fight with Michelle toward the film’s end, but others are just conniving and mean (such as when he tries to ruin Michelle financially again and again).

Also, seeing Dinklage’s dramatic and solid performance as Tyrion Lannister in HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” it’s kind of a waste to see him flopping around with hijinks again and again. We’ve seen it before, in films like “Elf,” where he is brought in as the angry, comic-relief. He’s a very talented and likeable actor, and I’d like to see him take on some more challenging and serious material in the future.

Plot-wise, the film is by-the-numbers, and offers no surprises in its scope and progression. You’ll fall in love with Bell and her daughter by the end, will like Darnell, and will see the ending coming a mile away… even if you are still pleased to see it. The film is a painless hour and thirty-nine minutes, and never drags. And yes, Michelle is forced to address her guarded family issues by the end; even if it lacks the emotional take-a-way we’ve come to expect from her other films. All-in-all, an enjoyable comedy that never blows you away, but is an easy way to spend a weekend at the Box Office.

– by Mark Ziobro