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Acting
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Directing
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Story
Starring: Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne, Salma Hayek
Director: Miguel Arteta
Running Time: 83 mins
Like A Boss is an American film about two entrepreneurs who are approached by a wealthy magnate of the beauty industry for investment, however her heavy-handed approach to their business begins to drive a wedge between them as the stakes get higher.
There’s nothing particularly terrible about Like A Boss, nor is there anything particularly outstanding. Despite good onscreen talent, generally average writing makes a strong cast seem weak, relying heavily on cartoonish character traits to the point that this film seems like a caricature of the story it’s wanting to tell.
It’s a strange feeling, because of course, this is a comedy that’s there to be funny. And sometimes, the sillier, more cartoonish and more ridiculous, the funnier a film can be. However, Like A Boss tries to balance zany humour with a more heartfelt story about two women striving for business success together, something that gets badly caught in the crossfire of the film’s crazier comedy.
Couple that with the fact that the screenplay here isn’t overly impressive, and you end up with a comedy that’s trying desperately to make you laugh, and in the process neglecting what could have been a fairly more interesting story about the perils of success and competition for a lifelong friendship.
The hijinks that the characters find themselves in through the movie are just a little too far beyond the point of believability even for a mad Hollywood comedy, while the behaviour of some personalities here (particularly Salma Hayek and Rose Byrne) is evidence of an extremely thin screenplay.
As I mentioned, the cast is full of great talent, from the leading to the supporting roles. However, with such poorly written characters, some of the actors really aren’t on their best form, giving what feel like far more superficial performances than ones that can genuinely entertain.
Rose Byrne in particular is disappointing here, lacking her usual charisma and great onscreen energy as a woman whose deference to a business authority makes her almost dweebish and entirely unlikable. Fortunately, Tiffany Haddish stars with her usual zest as a complement to Byrne, delivering by far the most entertaining performance of the movie.
Hayek plays a caricature of herself and some kind of Devil Wears Prada persona, almost going overkill with her performance to the point that it’s not really funny, despite a few entertaining outbursts here and there.
Overall, Like A Boss isn’t a particularly great comedy. It’s not offensively terrible, but it’s a largely forgettable and plain affair that squanders a good cast as a result of poor writing from start to finish. So, that’s why I’m giving it a 6.4.
