Review: Like a Boss

Release date: January 10, 2020
Running time: 86 minutes
Starring: Rose Byrne, Tiffany Haddish, Salma Hayek

Like a Boss is a new friendship comedy where best friends Mel (Bryne) and Mia (Haddish) put their business and friendship to the test.  Mia and Mel have been best friends since junior high and eventually started their own cosmetics company.  Mia is the creative one and Mel is the more serious, business oriented one.  Unfortunately, despite their strong friendship and creative ideas, the business is having a little financial troubles.  However, when a successful female CEO (Hayek) enters the picture, her offer might just break up this once strong foundation.

This movie will live and die by its main stars, and thankfully Haddish and Bryne have very good on screen chemistry.  The two play off each other well and are a surprisingly funny pair.  Haddish is the stronger of the two, with better acting and comedy.  Hayek is a nice addition to the pair, and although she has limited screen time she plays her over the top character well, despite some odd quirks that they shoe horn onto her.  And some additional characters are very funny, notably Mia and Mel's employee / friend Barrett and Hayek's assistant.  The film has plenty of laughs for a night out, but a lot of the jokes are hit or miss.  As with many comedies of this type, there were some laugh out loud moments followed by either cringeworthy jokes or just awkward attempts at humor.  

And the story of the film is inconsistent.  It sets a good foundation in the beginning where the movie spends a lot of time establishing the characters and their backstory.  And because this is done for about half the movie, it makes the eventual conflict and resolution feel rushed.  I wish there was more ridiculousness and more hilarity, but it feels like those parts were either cut or rushed to keep the movie time at a manageable 83 minutes.  And this is a shame because the movie does have some pretty funny comedic moments and some surprisingly good dramatic parts.  Further, despite its all female lead cast, the movie doesn't have a ton to say.  It has some good points about friendship and beauty, but these feel like afterthoughts.

Like a Boss has charismatic leading ladies, who form a strong foundation for both the funny and dramatic parts of this friendship comedy.  

Rent It