[yasr_overall_rating]
A titan of industry is sent to prison after she’s caught for insider trading. When she emerges ready to rebrand herself as America’s latest sweetheart, not everyone she screwed over is so quick to forgive and forget.
Melissa McCarthy is incredibly funny. Having parlayed her talents into a producer’s as well as an actor’s role is a definite plus as it relates to covering both sides of the coin in the greatest effort to be profitable. Unfortunately though, in this film, a little of everything that makes a film successful is not always the right mix when you’re trying to make it credible as well. Given the makeup of the cast and the audience it tries to reach, it seems to be conflicting in that too much adult language in a film full of children sends too many mixed messages and takes away from the life lessons that both children and adults can learn though the team-building scenarios which give credence to victory after failure.
Michelle Darnell (Melissa McCarthy) beat the odds of a difficult childhood by becoming a successful business woman who at the peak of her career got caught up in an insider trading scandal. After a short stint in prison, she still is not convinced that her entire life has changed for the worse until upon her release she is forced to swallow her pride and realize she is no longer the heavyweight she used to be, that all of her possessions have been seized by the authorities and that no one wants to be around her, let alone take a business risk with her ever again. After begging her former assistant Claire Rollins (Kristen Bell) to allow her to sleep on her couch until she can get on her feet again, Michelle humbles herself just long enough to find another business venture that would elevate her and Claire beyond their lowly statuses.
After earning babysitting duty in return for some missteps, Michelle finds herself in the middle of a Dandelion Club meeting that Claire’s daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson) has become an integral part of. After accidentally finding out that Claire makes delicious brownies, Michelle comes up with a marketing plan that crushes the Dandelion’s cookie-selling legacy and causes infighting amongst the troops. Before long, Michelle and Claire become business partners in a take-no-prisoners showdown known as Darnell’s Darlings. Once the Darlings become much too successful for their own good, Michelle’s former scorned lover Renault (Peter Dinklage), plots to successfully take over the company and before long, nothing is left of the Darling’s legacy except bitter memories, unfulfilled dreams and yet another plot to turn things upside down again. In the end, all bruised egos are mended and the true foundation of support for one another is realized as Darling Michelle was able to recoup her brownie points.
While filled with enough humor and plot twists to keep it interesting, this film could have been so much more appealing, had a decision been made early on where to draw the line in capitalizing on bullyish, childlike humor or totally unnecessary sexual innuendo. With all the leadership experience of those in charge of the script, it should have been a no-brainer to sacrifice one in support of the other.
In theaters April 8th
