Like a Boss

“Best friends, Mia and Mel (Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne) are living their best lives, running their own cosmetics company until a villainous beauty mogul (Salma Hayek) conspires to steal it from under them. When her devious plan drives the besties apart, Mia and Mel learn that sticking together is the only way to turn the tables and take back their company. The beauty business is about to get ugly in this “Hilarious comedy following in the footsteps of Bridesmaids and Girls Trip.””

Mia and Mel have twenty years of friendship between them. As all of their friends have families and big, beautiful homes, they have put that part of their lives on hold to follow their dream of opening a cosmetic company focusing on highlighting the beauty of the recipient. While Mia’s creativity has brought them success in one of their products, Mel’s business acumen tells her they cannot sustain their dream company for much longer. Before Mel can break the news to Mia, the pair are approached and told that Claire Luna (Salma Hayek), a cosmetics business titan would like to meet with them. Offering to pay off their exorbitant debt for a negotiated 49% stake in their business, it comes with a stipulation that if either of them ever leaves the company, she would be granted 51%. With Mel enthusiastic and Mia hesitant about the deal, they eventually decide to go into business with Claire, who has deviously hatched a plan to divide the two so she can take control of the company.

If Like a Boss gets one thing right, it’s the chemistry between Rose Byrne and Tiffany Haddish. Their characters have a very believable and well-written bond between them that really does feel like it has spanned decades in the very short time we’re introduced to them, which is vital to the story, making it more meaningful that these two friends are having a wedge driven between them that is risking their partnership and business.

The film itself is rather short, coming in at 83 minutes with a good pace throughout. Although comedies are typically a shorter run-time, this one felt a bit too short, which I thought was a detriment to the story and needs of the characters. The biggest example of this is the entire premise of Claire Luna wanting to take over Mia and Mel’s business. Her meddling with their relationship isn’t even really that intrusive, except a couple instances of actively trying to alienate them from one another, then repeating something Mel says about Mia in confidence. This ‘grand’ scheme of hers that involves paying off a half a million dollar debt and make two friends hate each other is a pretty weak plot to base an entire film on, and with the little time spent on this portion of it, it really just fails to materialize anything of worth. Claire tells them directly before they sign the documents, if one quits, she will gain controlling shares. Wouldn’t this be painfully obvious to the girls that they are being blatantly manipulated? Story-wise, the entire thing is a bit of a stretch to believe in order to put Rose Byrne and Tiffany Haddish in some cosmetic-related comedy situations between two best friends on the outs. There are some funny moments, but the overall story could’ve been more enjoyable if there was a bit more focus.

I did end up enjoying Like a Boss more than I thought I would, but there was so much missed opportunity. The comedy, which does have quite a few good moments, takes front and center while the story is glossed over. While the two don’t have to be congruent in every comedy film, in the instance of Like a Boss, it would have benefitted since the major premise of the story is about the cosmetic industry. Despite this, the overlying theme of friendship and bringing out and recognizing the best in each other presents a solid message in the film, one that is the perfect accompaniment to the comedy duo it features.

Video

Like a Boss is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.39:1. The video is exceptional, with a lot of rich and vibrant colors in a lot of the scenes, with the look of the cosmetic industry, makeup, and trendy hairstyles and outfits looking astonishing. The picture is very detailed and clear, with no defects noticed.

Audio

The audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD 7.1. This track sounds great. Although the majority of the sound will be coming from the center channel in the form of dialogue, the surrounds get utilized quite nicely with the soundtrack that goes along nicely with the film.

Special Features

There are a few short extras on the disc which include:

• Deleted Scenes
• “Get Some” with Ron and Greg
• With Co-workers Like These, Who Needs Friends?

Like a Boss has its moments, but the great duo Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne make the film worth sitting through. If you can accept some of the unbelievable elements to the story and just have fun with it, you’ll find some entertainment with this film.