Life of the Party review

LIFE OF THE PARTY:

OCCASIONALLY FUNNY AND SWEET, BUT MOSTLY OBNOXIOUS AND PREDICTABLE!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES AND NEW LINE CINEMA

Melissa McCarthy is going back to school as the Life of the Party

            Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy) collaborates with husband and director, Ben Falcone (Enough Said, Tammy, The Boss) for the third time with their latest comedy, Life of the Party. As a comedian, McCarthy has been very hit-or-miss for me, much like Amy Schumer, if the script gives her enough to work with and she delivers her energetic timing just right she’s absolutely hilarious, but at her worst, she can get annoying really fast.

            Unfortunately, this is not one of those movies, Life of the Party is one of the most tiring concepts you could do for a comedy, a forty-something-year-old person going back to college, didn’t Tom Hanks star in a movie like this not too long ago with Larry Crowne? Aside from a few laughs and some heartwarming moments, Melissa McCarthy’s enthusiastic performance and energy is not enough to save it.

            After a sudden divorce from her husband, Dan (Matt Walsh-Bad Santa, Starsky & Hutch, Ted) while dropping off their daughter, Maddie (Molly Gordon-Animal Kingdom), Deanna Miles (McCarthy) decides to go back to college and ends up in her daughter’s class, who is not comfortable with the idea of attending college with her mom. Deanna plunges into the campus experience and embraces freedom, fun, and frat boys as she embarks on a spiritual journey and discovers her true self in a senior year no one was expecting.

            The film also stars Gillian Jacobs (Community, Regular Show, Rick and Morty) as Helen, Maya Rudolph (A Prairie Home Companion, Bridesmaids, Sisters) as Christine, Adria Arjona (True Detective, Emerald City, Pacific Rim: Uprising) as Amanda, Debby Ryan (The Suite Life on Deck, Jessie, Girl Meets World) as Jennifer, Julie Bowen (Happy Gilmore, Boston Legal, Modern Family) as Marcie, Jacki Weaver (The Five-Year Engagement, Silver Linings Playbook, The Disaster Artist) as Sandy, Stephen Root (Office Space, O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?, Get Out) as Mike, Luke Benward (Dear John, See Dad Run, Ravenswood) as Jack, Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley, Patriots Day, Crazy Rich Asians) as Tyler, Shannon Purser (Stranger Things, Riverdale, Rise) as Connie, Chris Parnell (30 Rock, Archer, Rick and Morty) as Mr. Truzack, Heidi Gardner (Saturday Night Live, SuperMansion, Mike Tyson Mysteries) as Leonor, Nat Faxon (Grosse Pointe, Reno 911, The Way, Way Back) as Lance, and Sarah Baker (The Campaign, Mascots, Louie) as Gildred.

            Overall, Life of the Party ironically doesn’t live up to the title and outside of a few chuckles and sweet moments, it mostly ranges from generic plot structure, predictable clichés, and side characters that are either one-dimensional or flat-out annoying. Though I will say it’s not nearly as painful to sit through as Tammy, at least McCarthy’s character is likable here.

            The plot is pretty standard and several times while watching the movie I was able to predict what was going to happen, which is not a good sign. Both plot clichés and certain jokes were predictable such as a black and white striped outfit that a character was wearing, and I made a reference to Beetlejuice and wouldn’t you know it? A Beetlejuice joke was made, I was one step ahead of this movie.

            However, they managed to surprise me at how lazy the script is even more than the Beetlejuice reference. During the final act of the movie, Melissa McCarthy, her daughter, and the daughter’s friends throw a big party and using Twitter to promote it claiming that a certain celebrity will be attending as a scam. Literally the moment that announcement was made, I figured out exactly where it was going, and those of you who are familiar with clichés like this can already guess what happens by the end.

            I will admit, there are some legitimately touching moments in the film and I like the chemistry between McCarthy and the daughter. The scenes with them bonding with each other, talking about their feelings, and trying to help out one another are undeniably sweet and the film has a nice message about family, in my opinion these are the moments where the movie shines.

            Unfortunately, there’s not enough heartfelt moments to balance out the predictable storytelling, bland and/or annoying side characters, and lame jokes. I’ll give Life of the Party credit that it’s at least a harmless comedy with a few laughs sprinkled in and some moments that tug at your heartstrings.

            If you’re a die-hard Melissa McCarthy fan, then Life of the Party might be up your alley, but if you’re looking for a perfect movie to see with your mom on Mother’s Day, might I suggest Tully over this? It’s a better made movie that’s funny, dramatic, and touching all at the same time, this on the other hand, I’ll probably forget about in a couple days.