Scrolling through my subscription channels last night, I came across Life of the Party which was just released May of 2018. I generally like Melissa McCarthy as a comedienne but didn't catch this film while it was in theaters. With no good television series to watch, my wife and I settled in for a mindless comedy.
As Deanna (McCarthy) is preparing to send her daughter Maddie (Molly Gordon) off to college, her husband (Matt Walsh) drops a bomb on her. He wants a divorce. Deanna never finished her degree, dropping out of school when she became pregnant her senior year of college. In the midst of a mid-life crisis, Deanna decides to return to school (the same school Maddie is enrolled in) to finish her degree. The awkward, going to school with mom phase becomes warmth as Deanna endears herself to Maddie's friends and becomes a veritable socialite. This coming-of-age tale is a more a coming-of-middle-age tale with plenty of humor thrown in for good measure.
Melissa McCarthy is an excellent, funny actress who can make me laugh just with her own funny laugh. She has great timing and sharp wit that fits well into this type of situational comedy. She wrote the screenplay for this film along with Director Ben Falcone, who makes a cameo as an Uber driver. This is the third time the pair of teamed up to create a comedy (Tammy and The Boss being their previous films). Life of the Party is mindless fun. A middle-aged woman returning to school and learning to adjusting to changing times while coming to terms with her own life changes provides great fodder for humor. While the film often relies on vulgar references, it is definitely funny. This wasn't written to be great cinema as much as serving as easy humor with little investment in the characters or story.
I can't recall having watched a Melissa McCarthy film that didn't make me laugh. Some are definitely better than others. None are blockbusters. But she is a solid actress and comedienne. Matt Walsh is solid as her estranged husband. I can't recall a McCarthy film that Maya Rudolph hasn't been in. I guess when you have the comedic chemistry that McCarthy and Rudolph have, you may as well exploit it. Aside from a plethora of unknown actors and actresses, we are also treated to a cameo appearance by Christina Aguilera. For a comedy, this film had a solid cast. Nothing special. Just solid.
Life of the Party somehow managed to navigate the MPAA to a PG-13 rating. There is plenty of vulgar humor, from talk about a woman's "va-google" to public sex. Absent nudity, it appears the adult themes and language were not enough to push this film into R territory for the MPAA. But there is plenty of adult thematic material that is not appropriate for younger viewers. Based on that, I would probably use the MPAA as a strong guideline with thirteen being my bottom end for recommendation for this film. Run time is one hour, 45 minutes.
Life of the Party is mindless fun. It is not meant to be a deep, philosophical film. It is a situational comedy designed for mindless laughs. Those laughs are often vulgar and contrived. The plot is formulaic. It is a weak story with mediocre characters. But it is a complete story with a narrative arc and decent pacing. Most importantly, while predictable, the laugh lines often were not. I laughed quite a bit at the inane humor in this film. It was a silly story but funny. Mostly because the film was well executed in spite of its flaws. IMDb is harsh on this film with a current rating of 5.5. I think I would go a bit higher with a very mild recommendation. 6/10.
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