Like A Boss is the story of two long-time best friends and roommates, Mia (Tiffany Haddish) and Mel (Rose Byrne), who run a hip, yet not financially lucrative, cosmetics company. Mia is an infectious, free-spirited energy that has fun at her job, even when her decisions are not the most fiscally responsible. Mel is the more conscientious of the two and is looking to make the company as successful as possible, all the while keeping their growing debt from Mia. When one of their hit products shows up on the radar of cosmetics mogul Claire Luna (Salma Hayek), they are soon offered a financial lifeline in exchange for a minority stake in their company. The two friends must weather the complications that this new situation brings to their lives, lest they risk losing control of their company and destroying their friendship.
The premise of Like A Boss hinges on buying that Mia and Mel are best friends that would do anything for each other, even when times get tough. Thankfully, Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne have a very natural, believable chemistry that really grounds the movie’s more outrageous moments in some sense of reality. Tiffany Haddish is not holding back with her performance in this movie. Anyone who has followed her career knows that she has a bold personality, and while that can be a bit much at some points, this movie would not work what little it does without her. Rose Byrne is one of the best stealth comedic actresses around, but her character is not given enough standout material to reach the heights she normally does. Paramount should be given credit for financing a hard-R rated comedy centered around primarily women, but the script needed another pass to make it actually laugh out loud funny.
The best moments from the movie come from the very strong supporting cast. The honor of MVP of the film would have to go to Billy Porter, who portrays Mia & Mel’s standout employee, Barrett. As an award-winning veteran of stage and screen, Porter wrings every inch of comedy out of his limited screen time. The trio of Jessica St. Claire, Natasha Rothwell and Ari Graynor also elevates the energy and the laughter while they are on screen, but you almost wish that they has been given more of an opportunity to riff and really find the comedy gold that all of these talented ladies have inside of them.
Ultimately, Like A Boss provides a pleasant escapism, but not much in terms of full-on belly laughs. The movie is paced very well and mercifully does not overstay its welcome at less than an hour and a half running time. If you decide to watch this movie, you could probably guess even without reading any reviews that it offers little to nothing in terms of breaking new ground in the genre. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of the cast and are looking for a comforting distraction from the horrors of the world, there are more egregious ways to spend your time.
Video Quality
Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment brings Like A Boss to Blu-Ray with a very pleasing 1080p video presentation. The image is clean with the bright color palette popping off the screen. The black levels are handled well and there is no discernable digital noise. The flesh tones are natural, which is greatly appreciated for a film centered around the cosmetics industry. The presentation provides a significant amount of depth on display, especially in the interior shots. This is as solid of a presentation as any modern movie should provide on Blu-Ray.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray provides a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track that serves the film well, even though there is not a lot of opportunity to really give the track a workout. There are some sporadic moments that make the subwoofer kick in, but for the most part the movie employs subtle use of it. The dialogue is clear, if not slightly on the quiet side. There is also not too much activity in the surrounds outside of the booming modern music that pops up frequently throughout the movie.
Special Features
- With Coworkers Like These, Who Needs Friends?: A nearly six minute behind the scenes video that mostly amounts to everyone patting each other on the back, but there are a few fun tidbits about crew potlucks that are amusing.
- “Get Some” with Ron & Greg: The competing cosmetic company duo played by Ryan Hansen and Jimmy O. Yang are given a glorified commercial.
- Deleted Scenes: There are two deleted scenes that run less than three minutes combined. These scenes do not add anything special to the movie, and it makes sense why they were cut from the final product.
Final Thoughts
There are several individual things to enjoy about Like A Boss, but overall it never comes together to make something that truly elevates the genre. Fans of the cast or those looking for a lighthearted diversion should give it a chance, but those who are already on the fence probably won’t find much to justify the viewing. Paramount Home Entertainment has delivered top-notch video and sound for the presentation along with few extras to round out the package.
Like A Boss will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on April 21, 2020.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
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Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
