Review: “Like a Boss” is a Disappointing Abuse of Talent

In a rare sighting of a genuine comedy (separate here from romantic comedies), it was easy to be excited for Like a Boss, the Tiffany Haddish- and Rose Byrne-centered buddy movie. With its all-star all women-led cast and obviously irreverent humor, there’s seemingly little not to like for a lighthearted start to the cinematic year. Leaving the theater — or even sooner, halfway through — it’s disappointing to realize how far this movie falls short of its promise. What Like a Boss offers in its trailer comprises most of the laugh-out-loud moments of the film. When the best of them land quickly — familiar scenes front-loaded in the first act — there comes the audience question of “what’s left?” and the almost simultaneous realization that the rest is a mystery, and unlikely to be a good one. The result is a rather predictable, shallow movie about friendship that plays its genre by the numbers without offering anything new, heartfelt, or interesting.

Mia and Mel (Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne, respectively) have been lifelong best friends, having gone to high school together, then college, then venturing out into adulthood where they turned their longtime makeup hustle into an actual business. They live together, work together, and are inseparable, much to the admiration and envy of the other women in their friend circle who have more successfully launched into the provincial stage of their lives in suburban Atlanta with houses, cars, and children. The inevitable tear in th…