A middle-aged woman gets divorced, decides to finish her studies at the dullest University in America and becomes the “life of the party.
Deanna (played by Melissa McCarthy) finds herself divorced in her 40’s and is unleashed on a dull university, where her daughter Maddie (played by Molly Gordon) is also enrolled. Queue the hilarity and misunderstood adult/youth and building of relationships…
Produced and co-written by Melissa McCarthy and directed by her husband Ben Falcone, the movie does have a bit of action but is not the funniest college/parent comedy on the circuit at the moment (or ever).
The Good
The summer relationship between Deana and her young frat boy called Jack has the best comedy of the whole movie.
The relationship is sweetly portrayed and does have a level of hotness to it – but is purely a plot device to set up certain situations for the film.
A surprising bit of information about Jack will get the chuckles, but at what expense?
A great performance (as usual) by Maya Rudolph as Dean’s best friend adds to this film, but cannot save it from the dullness and flat comedy through its entirety.
The Bad
Yes some students are scholarly and do study and focus on their studies instead of partying or political parties – but a whole university full of the dullest teenagers in America seems a bit of a stretch – yet that is where Deanna finds herself.
After a sudden divorce, she ends up in her mid 40’s, enrolling in University to finish her dream studies (that she gave up to be a wife and mother to her daughter) a daughter who is a senior at the same university.
This wouldn’t be to bad (a bit dull but not bad) but the clout of the comedic performers in this movie is not utilised at all, Deanna’s ex husband is played by Matt Walsh, might as well be played by anyone for all the impact he is given. The other cameos by Julie Bowen, Stephen Root and more are unnecessary, as they do not add any value to the movie.
The Verdict
Though zany and sometimes humorous, this film seems to be the gentle unleashing of the middle-aged divorcee – so a more realistic account of what would happen if a woman got divorced and “unleashed” today.
You would have more fun finding stare gry hazardowe za darmo to play on then spending the couple of dollars required to watch this movie.
Life of the Party is almost conservative, with no one willing to hurt one another’s feelings, acceptance all around and young people who are ultra conservative.
This movie seems to focus on how some of the younger generation are now becoming more conservative – less partying and more studious, which seems to be freaking out the older generation. How do you sell a coming of age party movie to a generation how does not party – centre it on a middle aged divorcee rather than a retiree and you could make a mint.
