Life of the Party
New Line Cinema | Release Date: May 11, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
46
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
16
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
58
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerMay 10, 2018
The movie portrays Deanna’s rediscovery of a pre-mom life, and how she squares that freedom with her identity as a loving mother, with a lot of warmth, and its refusal to gin up tired conflicts or mawkish lessons is admirable. That does, however, leave Life Of The Party without much comic momentum. Read full review
58
UproxxVince ManciniMay 10, 2018
In hitting so many bullet points from the boardroom presentation justifying its existence, it’s a wonder that Life of the Party manages to work in anything personal or natural at all. And it does, which is a testament to the talent of the people involved (McCarthy, Gillian Jacobs, and Maya Rudolph especially). I just wish I could see them in a movie that wasn’t trying to be everything to everyone. Read full review
58
The PlaylistLena WilsonMay 10, 2018
Maybe if the film had dwelled on its more off-color scenes instead of falling back on typical comedy fodder, it would be truly magnetic. Unfortunately, it’s more like a sloppy friend who, despite starting the night off full of joie de vivre, you now have to help stumble home. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerMay 11, 2018
A truly gifted comedic actress, McCarthy is wasting her talents with this vanilla-flavoured story. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzMay 11, 2018
So preoccupied with giving its star's wish fulfillment fantasies that it forgets to make sure all the other major characters seem like characters, rather than underdeveloped notions. Read full review
50
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonMay 10, 2018
Half the movie has a game McCarthy starring in scenes that live up to the promise of the movie’s title (’80s dance off! Bust a move!), and yet there are major plot points built around this same woman’s fear of public speaking. It has you longing for the narrative consistency of Rodney Dangerfield’s Back to School. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMay 10, 2018
The zaniness is pretty low-key, and what we witness is less the explosion of pent-up energy than the gentle affirmation of exuberant kindness. Read full review
50
USA TodayBrian TruittMay 10, 2018
It borrows from "Animal House," "Back to School," "Old School" and other superior films, leaning less into crudeness and more into female-centric laughs, but offers some sweet moments and a few enjoyably zany characters. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonMay 10, 2018
Working from a screenplay that he co-wrote with McCarthy, director Ben Falcone (who happens to be her husband) keeps things moving but without much of a spark. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMay 10, 2018
Life of the Party presents a situation more than a story, and in that it’s more like a sitcom than a conventional movie. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineEric HendersonMay 10, 2018
Novelty and Melissa McCarthy’s comedic chops only carry Life of the Party to midterms, and it soon becomes apparent that it’s a star vehicle without any engine. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterCaryn JamesMay 10, 2018
The film is a cream puff about a mother-daughter relationship, masquerading as a raucous return-to-campus comedy, most of it predictable. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMay 10, 2018
It’s a movie devoid of storytelling momentum, conflict and, worst of all, much in the way of laughs. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTom RussoMay 9, 2018
Thoroughly vanilla comedy, a movie jammed with well-meaning girl power messages but surprisingly little edge. Read full review
42
IndieWireJude DryMay 11, 2018
Life of the Party is proof that even the funniest actors need good material, which makes it all the more disappointing that McCarthy wrote the script with director Ben Falcone, who is also her husband. Read full review
42
ConsequenceBlake GobleMay 10, 2018
Life of the Party exists in one of those unfortunate places where it’s easy to criticize, but McCarthy still makes you smile, and even laugh. Read full review
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