‘The Boss: Unrated’ DVD Review: Melissa McCarthy Is The Boss, The Movie Isn’t

Melissa McCarthy stars as Michelle Darnell, a self-made businesswoman, who is sent to prison for insider trading. When she gets out, broke and left with no place to stay, Michelle insinuates herself into the life of her former assistant, Claire (Kristen Bell), and of her daughter Rachel. In order to rebrand herself and clear her name, Michelle establishes a new business plan with the help of her hosts. But which direction will she decide to follow: rebuild her empire or finally create a family ready to give her the love she needs?

> BUY NOW: ‘THE BOSS’ BLURAY

The Boss is an authentic ludicrous comedy, whose script is co-written by McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone, who also doubles as director. There is no need to search for a refined plot. The uninspired and arbitrary story deals with growing up poor and attaining fame, money and success. While substituting the traditional male lead in this genre with a female, the comedy bursts with unlimited easy jokes.

The Boss is full of amusing jokes introduced by the unstoppable McCarthy. From a teeth-whitening scene where she managed to talk with a dental retractor in her mouth to a scene of the boob-slapping argument between her and Bell, the actress proves once again how talented she is in role like this one. McCarthy owns the film. She shows off her gift at improvising scenes. Her hilarious performance rests upon self-mockery with jokes about her weight and appearance. The Boss could have been a good satire but ends up as ridiculously random. Spy and Identity Thief, which also starred McCarthy, were better. Fans of McCarthy will definitely enjoy The Boss, but as a funny distraction rather than as essential viewing.

EXTRAS:
Concerning the extras and other bonus features, the unrated version runs about 5 minutes longer than the theatrical edit. Among the differences: the unrated cut adds Bell’s husband Dax Shephard playing the son of Ida Marquette (Kathy Bates), whose dinner party Michelle crashes. In addition, it includes 14 minutes of deleted scenes, like Claire’s follow-up job interview or and Tito (Cedric Yarbrough) working at Best Buy; as well as 16 minutes of extended and alternate scenes springing essentially from the big climax sequence; a short gag reel quite similar to the outtakes played in the closing credits; and about 30 minutes of exclusive sketches such “Michelle Darnell – Original Sketch,” “Origin Story,” “Peter Dinklage Gets to the Point” and “Everybody Loves Kristen Bell.” The DVD copy also offers deleted, alternate and extended scenes but lacks of extras compared to the Blu-Ray.

Article by Antoine Ruiz