Cine Beaverhausen: Melissa McCarthy Is The Boss

As Judith Crist would have put it in one of her old reviews, Melissa McCarthy "comes a cropper" in her latest film, The Boss. It appears Ms McCarthy is hellbent on raking it in while she's hot, which won't be long if she continues to turn out garbage like this. I barely cracked a smile throughout this reputed comedy.

The flick's a Universal Pictures release and it doesn't serve that studio's reputation well, though they may have video sales more in mind than the box-office as far as their finances go.

The strategy may have been to release this loser ahead of the summer action movie onslaught. As usual, Ms McCarthy surrounds herself with a talented supporting cast that includes Kathy Bates, Kristen Bell and Peter Dinklage. It doesn't help, unfortunately.

The plot revolves around a woman, Michelle Darnell (good drag queen name, actually), who goes to jail for insider trading. She returns to society hardened and scammier than ever.

The Boss was co-written and co-produced by McCathy, her hubby and their good friend from their Groundlings improv group. Maybe more distance from this film was needed to see its many flaws and lack of good humor herein.

B for effort, D for execution says Buddy Beaverhausen's report card on this film.

Cine Beaverhausen: Spy and the Mystique of Melinda McCarthy

I've adored Melissa McCarthy since Bridesmaids. She seems to be a new gay icon. In her latest film, Spy, she's exactly the sort of spy I imagine I'd be. Short, a bit thickset, but tenacious.

Spy was directed by Paul Feig who directed MM in two of her best films: Bridesmaids and The Heat with Sandra Bullock. So, I was intrigued, especially since her leading men were Jude Law and Jason Stratham.

Let me just say that I basically love this comedy-acttion film. The set-up is that McCarthy is a CIA office worker who advises suave, James Bond-like Law via phone. And she has a crush on him.

The film even has a Bond-like title sequence with diva vocals by Ivy Levan. Allison Jenney and Rose Byrne are wonderful in this. And Stratham has some seriously funny lines.

Knowingly funny; definitely camp, McCarthy's scenes in Rome are fabulous. Favorite line: "Rayna, thank God your hair broke your fall!"

There's something very girl-nextdoor and lovable about Ms McCarthy's persona that's essential to enjoying this movie.

It's a great combination of comedy and action, though it goes on a bit too long. Nonetheless, cheeky and spirited viewing. Recommended.

Video Beaverhausen: Tammy with Melissa McCarthy

The Princess of Plus-Size, Melissa McCarthy, stars in Tammy. Not a remake of the Debbie Reynolds film of the same name. Susan Sarandon, Toni Collette, Kathy Bates, Allison Jenney, Dan Aykroyd and Gary Cole are in it too, which is a good thing. I believe Melissa-as-Tammy has extra "fat" padding for this characterization, so there's more of her to love. Or not, as it turns out.

As with most road movies with a picaresque chain of events, this dumb-gets-dumber comedy gets tiresome early on.... despite the talent involved. Stabs at pathos don't work, sadly, coming off as spurious and condescending to the audience.

Directed by Ben Falcone who directed McCarthy in her breakthrough role in Bridesmaids, this film really doesn't have a script has grounded in reality or characters as believable as in that other film.

While the movie held my interest to the end, mostly because of the performances, Tammy may be more of a parody of working-class women than a celebration, in my humble opinion. It's a road trip comedy with a madly disenfranchised character that, like most of its ilk, taxes our patience like an obnoxious passenger we're forced to share time with. For Ms McCarthy, this movie is an embarrassment. She deserves much better than a third-rate girls-behaving-bady vehicle.