The Boss

If it's possible to be disappointed in and delighted by a movie simultaneously, then The Boss delivers. It taps into McCarthy's patented sass but ultimately fails to deliver because a) it dilutes her comic powers with superficial storytelling and odd pacing and b) it peppers bracingly refreshing moments with tired, old jokes. First, the good: McCarthy is simply fun to watch, and she almost makes you forget that the plot's so thin because she's so effortless in her comedy. (She even manages to wrangle a genuine laugh from a silly sofa bed bit that, when later repeated, reveals how meh the joke actually is.) And she shares an easy chemistry with Bell, who also delivers on a half-baked role.

But here's the bad: The characters are underdeveloped and underwritten; a prison subplot that sounds promising goes nowhere (and is strangely unexplored, comedy-wise); and there are so many holes in the remaining storyline that you have to wonder what happened in the process of filming. Watch The Boss for McCarthy, who's boss. The rest, you can live without.