By any standards Melissa McCarthy had a very successful television career: she played a popular character in the Gilmore Girls and is Molly of Mike & Molly fame.
THE BOSS
Director: Ben Falcone
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, Ella Anderson, Tyler Labine, Kathy Bates, Cecily Strong, Kristen Schaal, Eva Peterson, Timothy Simons, Annie Mumbo
Rating: (R13)
Three stars (out of five)
Then a few years ago she decided to branch out into movies in a little movie called Bridesmaids.
Much to everyone's surprise, the film was a breakout hit, and McCarthy's character was the one people were talking about.
Since then she has kept her television job and has made as many films as she can, all with varying degrees of success.
This year's side project is The Boss (Readings).
In it she plays Michelle Darnell, a character she developed in her improv days, and gives her the full film treatment.
Michelle is one of those "only in America'' figures: a wildly successful businesswoman who has become a celebrity by becoming a motivational speaker.
We first see her descending to a stage atop a huge brass eagle before preaching her gospel of making money the Darnell way to an ecstatic audience.
However, her fall from glory is quick after she is jailed for insider trading and has all of her assets frozen by the courts.
Determined to claw her way back to the top when she is released, the only person she can turn to is her soft-hearted former personal assistant Claire (Kristen Bell).
Much hilarity ensues, well not really but it does have its laugh-out-loud moments, which are enough to forgive the film's uneven tone.
- Christine Powley
