Like A Boss

When "Like A Boss" was originally released in January, it was gifted to a very different audience. It was months before the global shutdown took effect outside of China, when action movies big on explosions and intellectually challenging cinema raked in cash and critical kudos hand over fist. "Like A Boss," on the other hand, is a weird odd couple comedy where Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne take on a deliciously villainous Salma Hayek over a cosmetic company. The movie reached its target audience at the time: People who want to watch something relatively low stakes.

The world needs low stakes right now, and arguably has never needed mostly harmless bits over the past few years than now. Everything in lockdown is too serious and anxiety-inducing: even the idea of being able to walk into a makeup store is a fantasy. Watching two funny ladies unite against a woman playing a fashionable harpy makes for the occasional giggle over an hour and a half. "Like A Boss" cruises at a low altitude with occasional rises from movie comedy frequent fliers. Yes, this is rated R for many reasons: Sex, drugs, rough language, and various bodily functions. I hesitate to call all of the laughs low brow since the jokes are crafted to specifically correct the brows on women over the age of 30.

"Like A Boss" is the kind of project I had imagined Tiffany Haddish leading years ago. She is playing a heightened version of herself, which is, of course, a delightful, rough-around-the-edges ray of sunshine. Rose Byrne is up to the task as her foil. The most outrageous performance, hands down, goes to Salma Hayek, who throws a lot of nuance into her performance. As an executive producer of fashion magazine comedy "Ugly Betty," as well as having her own makeup line, Hayek plays a stereotype but also has the goods to flesh it out.

"Like A Boss"
DVD $29.98
DVD+Blu-Ray+Digital Combo Pack $39.99
https://www.paramountmovies.com/movies/like-a-boss