Like A Boss has the making of a really great girl power movie, but somewhere along the way it loses itself.
Like A Boss is the story of two women who have been best friends since middle school. They started a makeup company together, but have fallen on hard times. Mel thinks it is a good idea to allow an investor into the business to help them out of debt, and grow to their highest potential. I am sure you can guess exactly how this movie plays out just by reading those few lines — and you would be right.
Too Predictable
From the moment Salma Hayek’s character was introduced, it was obvious what was going to happen. Claire made the friends an offer they couldn’t refuse. She got them out of debt with her investment and would only take 49% of the business. But there was a catch. If one of them quit, she would take 51%. If you didn’t see her pitting Mel and Mia against each other until one of them left the company, than you were not paying attention.
The longer I watched this movie, the longer I knew I was right. I also predicted that after a big fight, one of the girls would quit. But of course the would come back together to create a new business (or get their back somehow) and there would be a happy ending. And I wasn’t wrong.
Brings The Girl Power
I will say that Like A Boss does bring the girl power. This movie shows these women living their best life, most of the time. They both have booty calls, they both put their careers first, and they both like empowering other women. Their makeup company was created to let women enhance their natural beauty, not cover up flaws.
There is a competing makeup company run by straight men, that is all about the opposite of what they are about. That company says women wear makeup to “look hot” and “get laid” — and they stick that right in their slogan. One of their lipstick colors is actually named “cherry popping red”. Disgusting.
I get that these men were put there to not only create a rivalry, but to show how most men think. However they rubbed me wrong the whole time and I was often just annoyed when they were on screen (Although I actually adore Jimmy O. Yang in the show Silicon Valley!).
Funny Moments – But Not Enough
There were very few moments during Like A Boss where I laughed out loud. And way too many that times I rolled my eyes. This movie really has great potential — Tiffany Haddish is usually hilarious! Unfortunately, most of the jokes fell flat. There were several times where I knew that the plan was to have the audience laughing, but it just wasn’t happening.
For example, there is a scene where Mia and Mel are smoking marijuana during a baby shower, but one of their friends had left their baby in the room. The girls didn’t know that and in the process of putting out the joint, they accidentally drop it in the kid with the baby (and take a photo). I know that this was meant to be funny but I just found myself rolling my eyes and waiting for it to be over.
Overall Thoughts
Like A Boss has a lot of potential. The overall plot is predictable, but a good one. It teaches lessons about friendship, and work ethic, and strong women. But on the other hand a lot of the jokes fall flat and I found myself getting bored about three quarters of the way in. And for a 90 minute movie, that isn’t a good sign.
I liked Mia and Mel’s friendship and story, but I found Claire incredibly annoying every time she was on the screen. Is Like A Boss a family movie? Nope. Is it a fun movie? Sort of. But is it worth a watch? Well…Like A Boss would make a great movie to have on in the background during a girls night. It’s not terrible. But it isn’t good either.
About Like A Boss
Best friends Mia and Mel run their own cosmetics company — a business they built from the ground up. But they’re also in over their heads financially, and the prospect of a buyout offer from an industry titan proves too tempting to pass up. The beauty business is now about to get ugly as the proposal puts Mia and Mel’s lifelong friendship to the ultimate test.
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Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.