2020 Reviews – Like a Boss

A lot of the world, including other parts of Australia, are reviewing Tenet, but I’m here in Victoria, schlepping it with a catch-up review of Like a Boss. Bloody COVID-19, delaying Christopher Nolan from me – just another reason to hate this virus stressing out the world. You know, if it wasn’t for the delightful Rose Byrne, I doubt Like a Boss would even a get a look-in from me. The new-movie draught has led me here; desperate times call for desperate measures.

Childhood friends, Mia Carter (Tiffany Haddish) and Mel Paige (Rose Byrne), run a small make-up label and salon together, charmed to be living out their dream. Mia is impulsive, but comes up with some remarkable product ideas, while Mel keeps the accounts afloat. The business is struggling, and when global cosmetics figure Claire Luna (Salma Hayek) takes an interest in their brand, Mel sees it as a chance to get the backing they need to make it big. But Mia loves the freedom of being her own boss, and is hesitant to trust Claire’s incoming control over their business. What a conundrum?! Claire drafts a contract whereby, if Mel and Mia split, she gets full control of their company – by signing the contract, will these best friends be able to keep it together?

In my following words to come, I’m going to be talking about a lot of things I don’t fully understand – women, make-up and business. Prepare to be ‘mansplained’. I actually found a lot of this movie to be fairly light and entertaining. I had a big smile on my face for the majority of the jokes. The movie seems holistically for women though, and presents what I would call, the best side of millennial feminism. There are a lot of jokes centred on female empowerment, about friendship, business, pregnancy, and vaginas, without the need to belittle men at the same time. It seems Mel and Mia want to promote make-up that accentuates a women’s natural beauty, and that’s a really positive message. If I think about it, make-up gets sold on the emotional connection or prestige a lot of the time – it’s less about what the make-up can do, or the make-ups quality; am I right, ladies? Mel & Mia’s company have an inventive One Night Stand bag, and then a beautiful campaign called Proud. The biggest competition they face for Claire’s affection comes from two straight men advertising make-up from the angle of covering up those ghastly imperfections – that’s not very nice. And the last thing women need is straight men telling them how they should like their make-up; ugh, am I RIGHT, ladies? It’s confusing and infuriating to see the hob-knobs at Claire’s showcase preferring the men’s garish artistry over Mel and Mia’s elegant design, but I guess that just illustrates how much the guests are all under Claire’s thumb. From a business-orientated position, it does seem like Claire helps Mel and Mia consolidate their debts – Mel is pretty clear that their dream lifestyle would be dead in six months without her. So, Mia’s unwillingness to try to get on board with Mel is a little annoying, but Mia can definitely be too stubborn, and Mel is always yielding; ah, their flaws are so clear, it’s a relief when they finally get to the bottom of their differences and evolve their friendship.

Tiffany Haddish is clearly a comedian first, and a lot of what makes this movie work is the funny coming out of Mia’s mouth. I feel bad for skipping out on movies like Night School and Girls Trip in recent years, because I didn’t think Haddish would appeal to me; I’m late to the Tiffany Haddish celebration. I did see Haddish in The Kitchen, and she fulfilled her part with that dramatic material, but that just wasn’t a good movie. Does she look at the camera once or twice in this movie? She might have a way to go to be a fully-fledged actress, but I understand the charm behind why she is blowing up in a big way. Rose Byrne can also be a seriously funny actress; she’s even better at playing the straight side of a comedy duo – I had a lot of fun with her in this movie too. The girls do a dance at the end of the movie, and Byrne seems slightly out of her comfort zone, but she gives it her all; it’s always hard not to love her. Also, Jennifer Coolidge returns to the big screen with a small part, as if she is carrying on the same character from her roll in Legally Blonde. The movie tries to always give her the clinching zinger; a few times it works and a few times it doesn’t. And I WITNESS Billy Porter’s moment, as the fiercest Queen on the cosmetic production line – you go, Glen Coco! Even Salma Hayek portrayal, as the villainous witch coming between good friends, grew on me over time – I appreciate the movie giving us one scene with her and her timid assistant, Josh (Karan Soni), early on, where she let us in on her plan to break up Mel and Mia’s partnership, because without her motivation in my mind, I think her antics would have been less interesting.

Where the movie falls over for me is in the scenes that are supposed to have a comedic action set piece – a couple of them are in the trailer, when Mia is hanging onto the banner for dear life so she doesn’t fall from like, the tenth floor of Claire’s building, and when she spits up goats milk. Those action pieces are usually what the movie’s swelling hilarity build to, and they seem too forced; it’s a letdown. Luckily, when Byrne and Haddish are riffing, it’s much better, and I think the two have great chemistry as believable best friends. They’re sweet. Don’t expect a trail-blazing comedy, but Like a Boss can pass for mindless fun during the pandemic. Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting much, but as far as buddy comedy duos go, Byrne and Haddish aren’t low on the pile. Maybe, check it out….? Or don’t, it’s your life.

3.0