“The Boss” Is No Boss Lady
Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades
Remember when Martha Stewart got sent to prison? A high-powered female executive behind bars for insider trading. Well, that’s the cribbed concept behind this new Melissa McCarthy comedy.
This is the fanciful-but-familiar story of Michelle Darnell (McCarthy), the power-crazy 47th wealthiest woman in the world. You’ll cheer when this obnoxious character gets her comeuppance, sent to the slammer for playing fast and loose with her stocks.
After six months in prison, Darnell emerges dead-broke -- she, the successful entrepreneur!
Yes, this is a PR disaster.
So Darnell decides to rebrand herself as “America’s Sweetheart.” One small problem: she’s not. Prison has not humbled her; she’s still the same old pain in the boardroom. Without the boardroom.
As her big comeback, she tries to exploit a former underling’s (Kristen Bell) daughter’s brownie sales business. But she doesn’t get along with the other mom’s … or kids for that matter.
Problems arise as all the people she’s stepped on in the past are not willing to buy into this new image.
Playwright Wilson Mizner once put it this way: “It pays to be nice to the people you meet on the way up, for they are the same people you meet on the way down.”
A lesson our boss lady has to learn the hard way.
McCarthy’s husband, Ben Falcone, wrote, directed and co-stars in the movie.
Under Falcone’s tutelage, Melissa McCarthy is developing into a plump Lucille Ball, a comedienne extraordinaire. From her “Mike and Molly” TV show to movies like “Bridesmaids,” “Identity Thief,” and “The Heat,” she’s building a reputation for bawdy, belly-laughing comedy.
You’ll next see her in Paul Feig’s all-female remake of “Ghost Busters.” Oh my, do we want to turn Melissa McCarthy loose with a proton pack and neutrona wand?
srhoades@aol.com
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