The Boss

Following the 2014 comedy Tammy, Melissa McCarthy and her husband, director Ben Falcone, reteamed here for another round of cheap, lazy gags that involve McCarthy working very hard for little or no pay-off. This time she plays multimillionaire businesswoman Michelle Darnell, whose assets are frozen after accusations of insider trading levelled by arch rival and old flame Renault (Peter Dinklage, here serving up large portions of ham). Kristen Bell plays the long-suffering PA who puts a roof over Darnell's head and stands by as she hijacks her daughter's Girl Guides meeting to pitch a new business idea to sell home-baked treats worldwide. Falcone (who co-wrote the script with McCarthy) seems unsure who is the target for the gags because, between espousing good old-fashioned family values, he has schoolgirls kicking the brownie out of each other, or else McCarthy turning the air blue with profane rants. McCarthy is a hugely talented actress, but getting in people's faces at full volume with nothing else to balance theaccount is just bad business.