Life of the Party Review
PG-13: Sexual material, drug content and partyingWarner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, On the Day Productions1 Hr and 45 MinutesDir: Ben Falcone | Writers: Melissa McCarthy, Ben FalconeMelissa McCarthy, Gillian Jacobs, Maya Rudolph, Julie Bowen, Matt Walsh, Molly Gordon, Stephen Root, Jacki Weaver, Heidi Gardner, Debby Ryan, Chris ParnellI love Melissa McCarthy. I love when other directors (primarily Paul Feig) work with Melissa McCarthy. I don’t like watching movies where Melissa McCarthy is playing an unlikable asshole who’s always angry, explicit, and most of the jokes revolve around her weight or the crazy stuff that comes out of her mouth. What I don’t love is whenever her husband Ben Falcone directs Melissa McCarthy because nearly everything that I hate about her movies occur when he’s at the helm. “Tammy” and “The Boss” are two examples of films that Falcone directed and attested to that statement. But it doesn’t make it better when you realize that McCarthy writes these movies with Falcone. Will their new film “Life of the Party” possibly prove me wrong? I hope so? This is rated PG-13 so that’s a positive start.
When her husband suddenly dumps her, longtime dedicated housewife Deanna turns regret into reset by going back to college - landing in the same class and school as her daughter, who's not entirely sold on the idea. Plunging headlong into the campus experience, the increasingly outspoken Deanna -- now Dee Rock -- embraces freedom, fun, and frat boys on her own terms, finding her true self in a senior year no one ever expected.Every once in a while when I have an increasingly painful time with a studio or filmmaker I feel obligated to write, not a review but, a letter. I did it in 2016 with “When the Bough Breaks” and that is what I’m going to do for this review.Dear Ben Falcone & Melissa McCarthy,You both have a great work ethic and managed to do amazing things separately but, whenever you come together to make a movie, it is an excruciating pain that not only me but a majority of moviegoers feel. I remember back to the time when you two made “Tammy” and, to be blunt, I hated it. A lot of the people that I viewed it with were turned off by it as well. Yes, it made a great profit worldwide and so did your second film, “The Boss.” The two of you sure know when to release a film… well, I assume the studios are the true geniuses behind that. Though the films have turned out a profit, they all seem to have received the same Cinemascore by audiences with a grade of a “C+”. That’s not good.
Now with “Life of the Party,” I feel the same emptiness that I felt with your previous collaborative works, except now it’s also filled with rage. With your previous films, McCarthy has played characters who were detestable people, but had to overcome challenges so she can grow as a better character. Here, she doesn’t play a character you can’t stand due to her vulgarness and downright nasty attitude, but instead a typical overbearing Mary Sue of a mom who always gets what she wants in the movie.The reason why I feel rage with this is because when it came to writing this character you wrote her in a sense that everything she does is just beloved by everyone and there are little to no challenges or growth to her at all. You may rebuke that throughout the film she is going through a divorce but everything after that seems to go Deanna’s way. There is little to no conflict between Deanna and everyone she interacts with at the college, for everyone is enthralled by her for some reason while she as a character is just not that interesting. A younger student starts falling for her, her professor has a major crush on her, her daughter’s sorority sisters adore her, and my believability is constantly thrown out of the window. Even when we see Deanna’s ex-husband (Walsh) and his new flame (Julie Bowen) they are the butt of the joke to nearly every scene they are in. Granted, there is one that had me unexpectedly cracking up, I realize that even then, Deanna still stands victorious.
The only characters that do have a quarrel with Deanna are Debby Ryan and her disposable friend who just echos what she says (similar to Jada Pinkett Smith’s role of being the echo to Christina Applegate in “Bad Moms.”) With Ryan and her friend, they aren’t real college students because as a college student, I know firsthand that NOBODY ACTS SO BLUNTLY, MEAN, OR GIVES ENOUGH OF A SHIT TO ACT NASTY TO OLDER COLLEGE STUDENTS! Those two characters are people who you would see in a high school movie, but definitely not college. I was constantly debating on walking out of the film 30 minutes in due to my unamusement but what kept me engaged were the talented cast members that I didn’t expect to show up. Granted, even though some were unable to make me laugh, I respect their work enough to stay in my seat. I love Chris Parnell, Jillian Jacobs, and Heidi Gardner so seeing them took me by surprise. There were so many unfunny jokes that I had to time when my first laugh would come in and that was 30 minutes into the movie. I had only ten laughs during the movie and only six came from McCarthy while two came from Jacobs and two came from Gardner.I highly advise the both of you to go read comedy screenplays as reference before writing anything else in order for you to see how jokes should be set up instead of all of them relying solely on constant ad-libbing. It is beneficial to your movie’s story and also for your editor who has to make sure your movie is tight, which isn’t the case here. At a certain moment, your film starts to feel less of a movie but a string of vignettes that all end on a sour jump cut and an unfunny punchline where the audience is confused if certain jokes are even jokes at all.
The way how I’m annoyed by your collaborative work is the same way I used to be annoyed with Will and Jaden Smith, especially when it came to “After Earth.” Then, a little while later, Smith and Smith went back to their own careers. Look at Jaden now. He’s prospering with solo music that is really good. And look at Will. He’s still portraying Will Smith in every role we see him in. I ask of you two to spread your wings and venture off into other projects where you can shine on your own and won’t have to rely on each other. McCarthy has a drama coming out later this year and that looks promising. Falcone, you just released a book last year which is a great achievement. You don’t need to make movies together to prove your worth. You’re better than that. This is the third film you two have worked on and it’s NOT GOOD.This is the third strike and you don’t get a fourth. Throughout my years of reviewing features I’ve always had a hard time watching your films so down to the deepest part of my heart. Please, please stop working together. It has now become clear that when you both make a movie, the results are so poor in reception that it has become exhausting. I am really looking forward to your upcoming film, “The Happytime Murders”, but that is mainly due to the fact that neither of you are in the directing and writing credits. Producing I can truly appreciate, but directing and writing I wouldn’t.Please take this under consideration and hopefully we won’t have this same issue again.Sincerely,Rendy the ReviewerRating: 1/5 | 26%Super Scene: Dinner fight.
