No trying to find love story. No friends make success because of male savior story. No utilization of anything male-oriented to drive the plot forward. But a story that focuses on strong women and the friendship that led them to success is part of the draw of LIKE A BOSS, the new buddy comedy starring Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne that opened today in theaters nationwide.
In the film, Haddish and Byrne portray best friends Mia and Mel, who have gained success creating and running their own cosmetics business. Unfortunately, the business begins to suffer from financial instability and the only apparent out is to allow cosmetic mogul Claire Luna (Salma Hayek) to acquire it and bail them out.
After the duo negotiates to keep major interest, Claire offers her assistance with one catch – the pair must remain friends or Claire will obtain the major share. Sounds like the setup for a comedic disaster (in its better sense) and a laugh out loud comedy, right?
Well the former is certainly true but the latter to a lesser extent. While I did enjoy the shenanigans of watching both leads struggle to keep their bond strong, yet convince the other of what of each believed to be Claire’s intentions, there weren’t as many laughs as I expected. But I must say, Byrne and Haddish’s chemistry is quite appealing and I wouldn’t mind seeing them paired again in a more thoroughly flushed out (and funnier) story.
My strongest laughs came from a scene that entailed a baby and an illicit drug, which was raunchy yet utterly hilarious, and a scene featuring Billy Porter (Barrett) after he learns of his… um we’ll call it a “tragic moment” as not to spoil – but remember those words!
Unfortunately, a lot of the jokes didn’t land as solidly as they should have and I don’t think the chemistry gelled with all the actors – an example being the awkward placement and basic delivery of Jennifer Coolidge’s quips, which could have been omitted with additional time bestowed to the underutilized Porter.
This is definitely a story that Haddish and Byrne could have taken to “Girls Trip” levels of hilarity, but it does fall shy. I still would recommend it for a Girls Night and am confident saying you’ll leave the theater having at least a few laughs and, more importantly, appreciating the celebration of friendship displayed on screen. I would rate it 2.5 out of 5 on the MMTrometer.
Until next thought, Thomasena
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