The current rating of 5.3 is much too low for this film. In the reviews there seem to be many 1 out of 10 detractors which makes me wonder 1/. did we watch the same film? 2/. did those reviewers not understand the film?, 3/. did they understand the film but not like the message?, or 4/. do they just not approve of films starring normal sized women?
The Boss is a parable about the value of money vs. the value of friendship. Michelle Darnell (played by Melissa McCarthy) never had any friends or family as a child, so by tooth and claw she fought her way to material wealth and (the illusion of) prestige through some preposterous, exploitative, pyramid marketing type scam, hurting a lot of people along the way. For her, money is a type of armour that bestows respect, comfort and security, which she needs, because no one's going to love her any time soon.
After a short white collar crime jail sentence she gets out to discover that she no longer has any armour. She doesn't even have a blanket, because she doesn't have any friends. But in desperation she appeals to her long suffering and under-valued single mom former assistant, Claire (Kristen Bell), who reluctantly takes her in because she knows herself what it means to be down on your luck with nowhere to turn.
Michelle may no longer have any money, but she has a more valuable asset - chutzpah - something that can never be taken away - and the steely determination that comes from having to fend for yourself when you're just a young child.
Discovering Claire's talent at making comfort food brownies, Michelle decides to muscle in on the girl-scout cookie operation headed by the movie's "bitch" Helen (played brilliantly by Annie Mumolo). Of course she prevails (because this is a Hollywood movie), but along the way she realises that she doesn't care about the money after all - what she truly values is the friendship of Claire and her daughter, and Claire's adorably dorky beau, Mike (played by Tyler Labine). She finally finds her family when she least expected it. So the 1 out of 10 haters should suck it, because they're wrong - this is a lovely movie.
The Boss is a parable about the value of money vs. the value of friendship. Michelle Darnell (played by Melissa McCarthy) never had any friends or family as a child, so by tooth and claw she fought her way to material wealth and (the illusion of) prestige through some preposterous, exploitative, pyramid marketing type scam, hurting a lot of people along the way. For her, money is a type of armour that bestows respect, comfort and security, which she needs, because no one's going to love her any time soon.
After a short white collar crime jail sentence she gets out to discover that she no longer has any armour. She doesn't even have a blanket, because she doesn't have any friends. But in desperation she appeals to her long suffering and under-valued single mom former assistant, Claire (Kristen Bell), who reluctantly takes her in because she knows herself what it means to be down on your luck with nowhere to turn.
Michelle may no longer have any money, but she has a more valuable asset - chutzpah - something that can never be taken away - and the steely determination that comes from having to fend for yourself when you're just a young child.
Discovering Claire's talent at making comfort food brownies, Michelle decides to muscle in on the girl-scout cookie operation headed by the movie's "bitch" Helen (played brilliantly by Annie Mumolo). Of course she prevails (because this is a Hollywood movie), but along the way she realises that she doesn't care about the money after all - what she truly values is the friendship of Claire and her daughter, and Claire's adorably dorky beau, Mike (played by Tyler Labine). She finally finds her family when she least expected it. So the 1 out of 10 haters should suck it, because they're wrong - this is a lovely movie.