Life of the Party

New Line Cinema | Release Date: May 11, 2018

5.0	USER SCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 73 Ratings

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IttiacesMay 13, 2018

Ben Falcone directs and co-writes 'Life of the Party' alongside his partner Melissa Mccarthy who stars as a naive housewife suddenly dumped by her husband for a newer model in the form of actress Julie Bowen. McCarthy decides the only remedyBen Falcone directs and co-writes 'Life of the Party' alongside his partner Melissa Mccarthy who stars as a naive housewife suddenly dumped by her husband for a newer model in the form of actress Julie Bowen. McCarthy decides the only remedy for her unfortunate situation is to return to college with her daughter and finish the degree she initially sacrificed to support her family. Melissa McCarthy is a very gifted comedic actress, and I've been a fan for many years now. This movie, unfortunately, does her no favours whatsoever. It is absolutely dire from beginning to end, and I say that with a great degree of sadness and reluctance. It's over the top, saccharin sweet, unoriginal with every cliche in the book shoved down the audience's throat in a vain attempt at garnering some humour. The story seems like a slightly reworked version of the 80's film "Back to School" with Rodney Dangerfield which was a lot funnier. Some of the scenes looked like McCarthy adlibbing to save her life, and the camera kept rolling to capture anything remotely interesting. The acting from the younger actresses was quite wooden and seemed forced at times. Julie Bowen is wonderful in Modern Family but was so awful in this I felt utterly embarrassed for her. Perhaps it was the editing or directing, but her role was cringeworthy. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone but the hardcore McCarthy fans who could basically watch her doing her laundry and be satisfied. I'm truly sorry to say, it's pure drivel, and as one of the best female comedians out there she deserves a better vehicle for her talents.… Expand

5 of 5 users found this helpful50

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TVJerryMay 15, 2018

Melissa McCarthy keeps teaming up with hubby Ben Falcone as writer/director. Every time the movie's get more self-indulgent and bland. This time she plays a sweet middle-aged mom, who ends up back in college with her daughter. Of course, herMelissa McCarthy keeps teaming up with hubby Ben Falcone as writer/director. Every time the movie's get more self-indulgent and bland. This time she plays a sweet middle-aged mom, who ends up back in college with her daughter. Of course, her character's spunk charms the students (unrealistic), while her positive messages bring heart and hope (painful). McCarthy barrels thru every scene with her typical manic delivery, but it's seldom funny (and there's not much of the broad physical comedy that she does so well). The attempts at making the supporting characters interesting simply falls flat. If you're a middle-aged female McCarthy fan you might respond to the empowerment theme, but if you're looking for laffs…enroll somewhere else.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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Compi24May 16, 2018

Unfortunately for Ben Falcone -- director of films such as "Tammy" and "The Boss" -- the third time is most definitely not the charm in the case of this third collaboration between the director and his real life wife, Melissa McCarthy. "LifeUnfortunately for Ben Falcone -- director of films such as "Tammy" and "The Boss" -- the third time is most definitely not the charm in the case of this third collaboration between the director and his real life wife, Melissa McCarthy. "Life Of The Party" is a profoundly unentertaining, tired, and unfocused film that overstays its welcome in way too many ways. With all of the subjectivity of comedy films considered, this movie still just didn't do anything for me on a comedic level, with many of its already unfunny jokes being beaten into oblivion by improvisation and over-explanation. Even as a story, there's not necessarily anything at the center of things here. Is this about Melissa McCarthy and her daughter coming at odds with one another as they both happen to go to the same college? Maybe for the first fifteen minutes before the daughter's suddenly okay with it all too quickly. Is the movie about Melissa McCarthy struggling to keep herself afloat financially in the wake of her divorce? Kind of at the end, but only for about another ten minutes. Is this about her dealing with bullies making fun of her because she's old? Here and there. Stress from school? Two scenes tops. There's not a central conflict here. This has the plot of a bad indie comedy, the look and feel of a bad studio comedy. . .but without any successful comedy of any kind. Ugh.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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AugustKellerJun 4, 2018

Life of the Party is the most painful film I have sat through in many years. It’s story lacks any focus or insight and it’s characters are maddeningly inconsistent. It’s direction is practically nonexistent as scenes are never sure of when toLife of the Party is the most painful film I have sat through in many years. It’s story lacks any focus or insight and it’s characters are maddeningly inconsistent. It’s direction is practically nonexistent as scenes are never sure of when to end or what they are culminating to. While Maya Rudolph and others are sometimes refreshing, much of this cast provided limited performances. All around, Life of the Party feels like a mess slapped together by people who couldn’t be bothered with ideas of craft.

Melissa McCarthy does provide good energy with her positive confidence but it is not enough to carry such a half-baked project. Improvisation can be a wonderful technique for comedy but when a film seems to have improvised its entire production, it comes across as unprofessional and lazy. Ideas, characters and plot points enter and exit this movie with such carelessness that everything ends up feelings like nothing. Sporadic funny moments are nice but do not offset how insulting this whole experience is. Life of the Party is a dump of a film and a waste of time.

Writing: 1/10
Direction: 1/10
Cinematography: 3/10
Acting: 3/10
Editing: 1/10
Sound: 5/10
Score/Soundtrack: 5/10
Production Design: 3/10
Casting: 3/10
Effects: 4/10

Overall Score: 2.9/10

Original Article: https://thefilmguys.blog/reviews/augusts-reviews/life-of-the-party-2018/… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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mattkerr494Jul 12, 2018

Lets just agree that Melissa McCarthy is a new female Adam Sandler and move on. The wholesome friends in this movie are the only thing that really stands out as potentially enjoyable, and even they encourage the obviously emotionally unstableLets just agree that Melissa McCarthy is a new female Adam Sandler and move on. The wholesome friends in this movie are the only thing that really stands out as potentially enjoyable, and even they encourage the obviously emotionally unstable main character into doing stupid things with horrible consequences. I'm sure I laughed at least a couple of times, but most of the "funny" moments just made me cringe.

Viewed 11/07/2018… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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