MOVIE - Life of the Party

PG-13 (1:45)

Wide release 5/11/18

Viewed 5/11/18 in Savannah, on our last night there, with Fran (opening night for this movie, too!)
IMBd:   5.5/10

RT Critic:  38  Audience: 44
Critic's Consensus:  Life of the Party's good-natured humor and abundance of onscreen talent aren't enough to make up for jumbled direction and a script that misses far more often than it hits.

Cag:  3.5 Liked it a lot, for the most part

Directed by Ben Falcone (I think that's Melissa McCarthy's husband)

New Line Cinema

Written by McCarthy & Falcone

Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Julie Bowen

My comments:  Knowing that it would be silly, stupid, and probably very funny in places, Fran and I decided to spend our last evening in Savannah at this movie.  That's exactly what it was:  silly, stupid, and very funny in lots of places.  Laugh really, really loud kind-of-funny.  Some of it was a real hoot.  There were three different scenes, however, that could have certainly been improved - taking out the eye-rolling stupid and continuing with the just-plain fun.  Oh well.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  When her husband suddenly dumps her, longtime dedicated housewife Deanna (McCarthy) turns regret into re-set by going back to college...landing in the same class and school as her daughter, who's not entirely sold on the idea. Plunging headlong into the campus experience, the increasingly outspoken Deanna-now Dee Rock-embraces freedom, fun and frat boys on her own terms, finding her true self in a senior year no one ever expected.

MOVIE - Spy

R (1:57)

Wide release 6/5/15

Viewed 8/22/15 at Centery Gateway (cheapie)

RT Critic:  94  Audience:  83

Cag: 4.5 so funny - loved it!

Directed by Paul Feig

20th Century Fox

Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law, Rose Byrne, Allison Janney, Robert Carnivale

My comments: Hystericall funny.  Melissa McCarthy  makes me laugh like , almost no other.  She had a BLAST with this part, you can tell.  AND, it was a healthy message for larger women everywhere - every one of us can totally relate to everything "Susan Cooper" felt when it came to the way people perceived her.  She came of as incredibly intelligent, witty, funny, fun, loyal, and savvy.  I loved this movie! ! !

RT Summary:  Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, and the unsung hero behind the Agency's most dangerous missions. But when her partner (Jude Law) falls off the grid and another top agent (Jason Statham) is compromised, she volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent a global disaster. 

MOVIE - Saint Vincent

PG-13(1:43)

Wide release 10/24/2014

Viewed 10/31/14 with Cyra Sadowl at ElCon

RT Critic: 74   Audience:   83

Cag:  4.5 Liked it a lot

Directed by Theodore Melfi

The Weinstein Company

Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts

My comments: This is dubbed a COMEDY, but I think that is entirely wrong.  Even black comedy doesn't do it.  There is absolutely some humor in it, but for the most part it's the story of how people cope with sadness and grief in their lives.All four of the major actors were terrific.  Melissa McCarthy is NOT playing this for laughs, she's a mom with stress and problems and an injured past.  I had gone to this thinking it was a comedy, and as the credits rolled I realized it was so much more than that.  Good movie.

RT Summary:  Maggie (McCarthy), a single mother, moves into a new home in Brooklyn with her 12-year old son, Oliver (Lieberher). Forced to work long hours, she has no choice but to leave Oliver in the care of their new neighbor, Vincent (Murray), a retired curmudgeon with a penchant for alcohol and gambling. An odd friendship soon blossoms between the improbable pair. Together with a pregnant stripper named Daka (Watts), Vincent brings Oliver along on all the stops that make up his daily routine - the race track, a strip club, and the local dive bar. Vincent helps Oliver grow to become a man, while Oliver begins to see in Vincent something that no one else is able to: a misunderstood man with a good heart.

MOVIE - Tammy

R (1:36)

Wide Release 7/2/2014

Viewed

RT Critic: 24  Audience: 39

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot - and I didn't intend to!

Directed by Ben Falcone (I think he's Melissa McCarthy's husband)

Warner Brothers Pictures

Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates - and more great actors in smaller parts

My comments: I thought this movie was going to be crass and stupid, but I went to it anyway, simply anticipating a great cast.  And I greatly enjoyed it!  Yes, touches of stupid AND crass, but only touches.  There was lots of "being human" here, too. A 3-generation story.   Melissa McCarthy is SOOO cleverly funny!  And the music was terrific - wouldn't mind the soundtrack.

Reviews: Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is having a bad day. She's totaled her clunker car, gotten fired from her thankless job at a greasy burger joint and, instead of finding comfort at home, finds her husband getting comfortable with the neighbor in her own house. It's time to take her boom box and book it. The bad news is she's broke and without wheels. The worse news is her grandma, Pearl (Susan Sarandon), is her only option-with a car, cash, and an itch to see Niagara Falls. Not exactly the escape Tammy had in mind. But on the road, with grandma riding shot gun, it may be just what Tammy needs.