Tiffany Haddish’s ‘Like a Boss’ is basically a rom-com, just minus the romance
A question for the film fan: How does a movie incorporate nearly every rom-com trope, without actually involving romance?
“Like a Boss” (in theaters Friday) has your answer.
It opens with Tiffany Haddish’s Mia giving a detailed description of her sexual fantasy about the “dignified and confident” President Barack Obama. After that, the comedy is off and running with sex jokes, race commentary and bizarrely funny non sequiturs.
The comedy – which revolves around best friends Mia (Haddish) and Mel (Rose Byrne), who are driven apart while trying to keep their fledgling makeup company afloat – seems modern, feminist even. But something about it also feels cliched and tired.
That’s when you realize it incorporates nearly every romantic comedy trope, minus the big kiss in the rain.
“Like a Boss” puts the stylings of classic Hollywood rom-coms back on the big screen, despite the fact that its heterosexual female stars never get the guy. And never plan to.
But they do experience plenty of things that the leads in “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” “27 Dresses,” “She’s All That,” et al. do. And it’s all packaged in an otherwise pretty progressive (if that’s how you’d label a movie about career-minded women being neither spinsters nor cruel) R-rated movie that has plenty of sex jokes.
What parts of “Like a Boss” are rom-com retreads? Let’s review:
There’s a karaoke scene
An entertaining and efficient way for two people at odds to voice their feelings and also showcase their chemistry? Karaoke, of course. When Mia and Mel disagree about whether to accept entrepreneur Claire Luna’s (a bonkers Salma Hayek in an orange wig) offer to buy a stake in their company, they turn to song. And only after singing before a crowd (like the couples do in “27 Dresses” and “How to Lose a Guy”) do they emerge unified to take her up on the offer.
The buffoonish villain
Luna is a villain from the start. She hits her golf club (that she hilariously carries around because “it’s something to fiddle with”) into objects for fun, bullies her assistant and steals ideas from her underlings. She also seems to flirt with Mel and does not appear to have any kind qualities whatsoever as she actively tries to break Mia and Mel apart. Other rom-com meanies: Paul Walker’s Dean and Jodi Lyn O’Keefe’s Taylor in “She’s All That,” Matthew Davis’ Warner in “Legally Blonde.”
It all hinges on a big work presentation
Like so many rom-coms, “Like a Boss” shows its leads dealing with a looming work deadline. Will they make the big presentation about their new brand? Will it ultimately be a mushy montage that they finish just in the nick of time? Yes, obviously, as we’ve seen in “I Feel Pretty” (which is also about makeup) and “13 Going on 30.”
There are sidekick friends to give advice
Mia and Mel do have other friends in “Like a Boss.” Why? So those sidekicks can give the main stars advice, like the friends played by Carrie Fisher and Rosie O’Donnell in “When Harry Met Sally …” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” respectively. So it follows that this movie’s quirky sidekicks spend much of their screen time talking about the primary relationship of the moment: Mia and Mel’s. The friends also offer plenty of comic relief, as is their tried-and-true job.
