“Life Of The Party”– Movie Review

This week, I attended an advanced screening of the new comedy “Life Of The Party”, starring Melissa McCarthy.

Synopsis

When a middle-aged woman suddenly finds out her husband is leaving her, she decides to return to college to get her degree – but will this sit well with her daughter who attends the same school?

Story

What should be a bittersweet day for Deanna (McCarthy) turns out to be more bitter than sweet.  Shortly after dropping off her daughter Maddie (Molly Gordon) at college for the beginning of her senior year, Deanna’s husband Dan (Matt Walsh) informs her that he wants a divorce because he’s fallen in love with another woman.  Horrified by the news – as well as its timing – she then decides to exact revenge by returning to college to get her degree and having Dan pay the tuition.  While this initially seems like a good idea, Maddie may not agree – mainly because Deanna is enrolling in the same college she’s attending. 

Deanna’s enthusiasm for her return to university life is soon tempered when she winds up getting a weird roommate and is trolled by some mean girls who aren’t terribly friendly or welcoming.  Nevertheless, Deanna is emboldened by the fact that Maddie’s friends absolutely adore and accept her; they are totally supportive of Deanna’s goal to finally finish her education and earn her degree.  Another thing that makes Deanna’s adjustment to college a bit smoother is that Jack (Luke Benward), one of the students at the school, is strongly attracted to her.

Once the divorce is finalized, Dan decides to get married to the woman for whom he’s left Deanna.  Although Deanna still harbors understandable bitterness toward Dan, she decides to bury the hatchet by attending his wedding and wishing him well.  However, upon arriving at the banquet hall where the ceremony is being held, she is pained to discover that Dan has gone out of his way to humiliate her in the eyes of the other guests.  So unnerved is Deanna that she trashes the reception area, causing Dan to cut her off financially.  Without Dan paying Deanna’s tuition, will she still be able to graduate?     

Review

It almost goes without saying that the saving grace of “Life Of The Party” is its star, Melissa McCarthy, who is credited with co-writing the screenplay (she is also credited as a co-producer as well).  While the script is trite and cliché ridden, it nevertheless serves its star well in that she is able to remind us what a gifted physical comedienne she is (although some scenes are either effects or stunt doubles) as well as the fact that she gives herself some of the best lines.  Having said that, though, it should be acknowledged that Maya Rudolph, who plays Deanna’s best friend Christine, comes close to really stealing the show.

In her own way, McCarthy – despite occasional missteps in some films over the past few years – has been the comedic trailblazer for women’s empowerment movies.  Even in what can sometimes be a sub-par motion picture, she can be the best thing to watch – and the fact that you can’t take your eyes off her is part of what goes into making her the star that she deservedly is.  The key to her success in this regard is the fact that while her character sometimes finds herself in embarrassing predicaments, she is never a buffoon; such situations only serve to humanize her character rather than demean her in the view of the audience.      

Did McCarthy really co-write this screenplay?  Probably not in the traditional sense.  Given that she wound up getting some of the best lines and the biggest hunk on campus had an immense crush on her character, she likely did have tremendous input into the script – which is probably how she ended up with a co-writing credit.  For that matter, did she really co-produce the movie?  Again, probably not in the standard way, although the role of the producer has typically been somewhat fluid.  In all likelihood, she probably negotiated the title as a way of having some degree of control over the film.