Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Life Of The Party

This film is a pleasant surprise! I first want to say when I first heard this was going to be coming out I was not excited as it felt the exact same as Back To School and so I’ll admit I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic to see it. Now that being said I’ll say the first 20 minutes into the film is absolutely brutal and is terrible but when the mother goes to school the film really picks up momentum and gets better. 

First off, I’ll say what I liked Melissa gives a warm and fun performance here that I’ve been waiting for. She isn’t over the top but she restrains herself and keeps the jokes contained and knows when is the best time to say them instead of them just being said and the joke not landing. She really did good work here which I’m so pleased to see as her most recent work in the Boss and Tammy really has had me worried about her. On top of that the film has a really great message and instead of her being the butt of the joke and made fun of for going back to school she’s embraced and welcomed with open arms which I really thought was cool and a great message to covey. So Melissa delivers great work here at the same time giving a great narrative where you also learn something that warms your heart.

Now for the negative things that irritated me. The supporting cast of the adults cast in this film was so incredibly weak and was the worst part of the film I thought that they were way over the top and trying way to hard to be expressive with their performance and just came off as cringe worthy rather then fun. The stuff with the friends were fine but when it’s Melissa’s husband or the adults onscreen they really bring the film down and just feel misplaced with humour that didn’t land for me. The last issue I had was I would of liked to have seen a resolution with the ex husband as that becomes such a huge part of the film but instead becomes the but of the joke. Besides that those are the only issues I had. 

Overall this film isn’t incredible but it isn’t as bad as people are making it out to be either it’s just good fun led by a enjoyable performance by Melissa woven with a very touching message at the heart of it and is well worth a watch. 

This film centres around a woman who’s life is in shambles and goes back to college to get her degree in archeology with her daughter at her side. 

Rated PG - 13 : for sexual material, drug content and partying

Melissa McCarthy : Melissa is back to form with her comedic roots! She is such a talented actress I’ve always said that but she gets the wrong roles and has been typecast since Bridesmaids. Now that being said she has finally used her comedic skills in a role that fits her and that she truly excels in strongly. In the film she plays a mother who’s going through a mid life crises and goes back to College now she dose play it for the laughs for majority of the film. But she also has some heart warming and touching moments too which is why i ended up liking her work here more then I thought I would. She has that great humour and it lands terrifically sure their are some in the beginning that don’t but most due and she uses them at the appropriate moments instead of just saying a joke to crack a laugh. At the same time she also shows more then just laughs all the way through as I said she also shows her more serious side quiet a bit which I liked because it showed she didn’t have to be funny every line of every scene she let the audience breath and catch our breath and by changing the tone in the scene and letting us see layers to her role was fantastic as that’s what we want and what I want to see her do. She is hilarious in the film and just so great onscreen having amazing chemistry with her cast and delivering truly one of her best comedic performances in a very long time that I thoroughly enjoyed. She makes you laugh and even feel emotional at tones she really is terrific in the film great job Melissa. 

Ben Falcone : Ben gave me mixed feelings! I’ll say first off this is his best film he’s collaborated with his wife on as The Boss and Tammy I was not a fan of and this is his best one yet. He was able to create a film that yes borrows heavily from previous films in this genre but also had this charming aesthetic to the screen that is enjoyable to watch. The humour works for 90% of it but like I said their are moments where a joke is put out and it doesn’t land and makes it awkward but for majority of it I enjoyed the humour throughout. He also was able to really capture this pure and heartwarming story with the mother and daughter who share great chemistry. I loved the overall message he gets you to take away from it and how he didn’t just hit you with jokes right left and centre but had some more toned down parts that were needed to let the audience take a break. He’s becoming better and this film is showing so Ben you have great potential and this film is the step in the right direction no pun intended. But great job here you got great fun performances and pulled off a fun film that was brought well together.