In recent years, the female-led buddy comedy has produced some hilarious results, and Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne are no stranger to these kinds of comedies. Haddish’s breakout role was in 2017’s Girls Trip, alongside Regina Hall, Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith. Byrne was part of the stunning Bridesmaids ensemble as the “perfect” one of the bunch Kristen Wiig’s character loved to hate. But what happens when you put these two talents together for Like A Boss?
Ahead of the release of the comedy this weekend, reviews for Like A Boss have been published, and it’s not looking good. The movie debuted at a 26% on Rotten Tomatoes and it’s time to break down some of critics thoughts. Starting off is CinemaBlend’s own Mike Reyes, who gave the film a 1 out of 5 stars in his review. Check out what he said about it:
The female empowerment angle never really goes anywhere, except to deliver the cinematic equivalent of someone writing “Yaaaas Queen” or “You Go Girl” on the screen at random intervals. This is a movie built around hashtags, rather than plot points, and it’s just as disposable.
Oooh, harsh! Mike Reyes felt the movie was too long despite its 83-minute runtime due to its lazy writing (“some of the laziest I’ve seen in years”) and wouldn’t even wish it on sending your frenemies to it. The Los Angeles Times’ Katie Walsh had a similar sentiment in her review on Like A Boss, with these words about the upcoming comedy:
There’s not enough of anything in Like a Boss, which runs a scanty 83 minutes. While less is often more when it comes to running times these days, there’s no character development, and this thing feels torn to shreds.
Like A Boss centers on our leads, Rose Byrne and Tiffany Haddish, as tight-knit besties since middle school who have found past success with their makeup business. When they find out they are under a massive pile of debt, they turn to beauty mogul Claire Luna, who has more nefarious plans for their company. Per these reviews, it sounds like the idea doesn’t go very far. Check out the comments from the review of AV Club’s Katie Rife:
Whether through the strength of Mel and Mia’s bond or through weak screenwriting, these gambits are underwhelming, and the film careens through a series of gross-out gags and physical comedy set pieces (most involving weed or vaginas) until finally landing on a finale that’s far-fetched, sure, but no more so than anything else in this film.
The R-rated comedy certainly goes there, but for many early viewers, it just didn’t work, especially when it came to the apparently outrageous conclusion. But not everyone hated it. The Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore said this about Like A Boss:
Quite funny for much of its running time, the film feels like it simply runs out of steam in its third act, settling for a lazy, pandering resolution and seeming happy to have made it to the 83-minute finish line.
Unlike some of the other reviews, DeFore felt the pair’s chemistry worked and the movie was pretty funny until they have a falling out in the third act. He said the movie “only crackles” when Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne are “feeding off each other’s energy.” The most positive review comes from Lisa Kennedy from Variety, who had this to say:
Its economic message might be fuzzy. Its feminism, too. But best-friend comedy Like a Boss rides Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrnes’s frisky and believable chemistry to laughs — some worn, some crude, but more than a few delivered deftly and consistently enough to keep audiences smiling if not doubled over.
Even if the pair are funny together, it’s not enough to impress Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers. In his words:
What we have here is a comedy on life support, with Haddish and Byrne valiantly performing futile acts of resuscitation. Sorry to report: The patient died.
Like A Boss comes out tomorrow, January 10, alongside Kristen Stewart’s horror-thriller Underwater and true story Just Mercy starring Jamie Foxx, Michael B. Jordan and Brie Larson. Check out our 10 most anticipated comedies of 2020, and plan your trips to the theater this year with our 2020 release schedule.
