“The Boss,” Melissa McCarthy’s latest leading role in a comedy, managed to beat out “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” just barely on opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.
The $23.48 million debut makes “The Boss” McCarthy’s seventh film in which she had a lead or large supporting role to gross over $20 million in its first weekend. Her streak dates back to 2011’s hit comedy “Bridesmaids.” McCarthy’s only film which didn’t hit this impressive mark was 2014’s “St. Vincent,” which started in a limited release and was not distributed by a big film company.
McCarthy has proved over and over that she can create box office gold, which is highly coveted in Hollywood.
How did McCarthy become so successful in a short amount of time? She is the queen of creating characters who are likeable, have outrageous stories and pack in the comedy no matter what is happening in a scene. It’s no surprise that “The Boss” also uses this formula.
McCarthy plays white-collar felon Michelle Darnell, who was one of the richest women in the world. Upon her release from prison, Darnell tries to embody the America’s sweetheart stereotype and fails miserably. The only person she has not screwed over in her career is her former personal assistant, Claire (Kristen Bell). The two women start up a Girl Scout-esque business to help get Darnell back on top.
Throughout the film, McCarthy uses her typical charm to lighten the mood. For a comedy, “The Boss” was too dramatic at times. This was a little atypical for a McCarthy film, since most of her previous films focus more on the comedy aspect.
A majority of the funny parts were shown in the trailers and commercials, leaving little to laugh at that had not been previously shown. There were still a few good laughs,though, especially during the last 25 minutes. However, if you have seen the trailers a bunch of times, most of the comedy loses its charm.
“The Boss” is nowhere near the genius of last year’s “Spy,” but McCarthy is still the bright spot of the film. Like “Tammy,” “The Boss” was directed by McCarthy’s husband, Ben Falcone. Both “Tammy” and “The Boss” were also co-written by Falcone and McCarthy. Neither of their films performed as well as the other films McCarthy has starred in.
“Tammy” failed to reach $100 million at the box office, which was the only full release feature McCarthy has starred in to not reach the milestone. This could spell trouble for “The Boss” in the long run. If it grosses similarly to “Tammy,” then McCarthy should stay away from making films with her husband.
All in all, if you enjoy McCarthy’s brand of raunchy comedy, then you will definitely enjoy “The Boss.” Even though it did not have as many laugh out loud moments as hoped for, “The Boss” is still entertaining from the beginning to the end.
McCarthy will be looking to extend her box office success this summer with the reboot of “Ghostbusters,” which will likely hit blockbuster status.
