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Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Bell star in a hilarious—and surprisingly empowering—movie you just can't miss!
Universal Pictures' The Boss doesn't officially hit theaters until tomorrow April 8, but that's not stopping us from getting excited about the new comedy starring the always hilarious Melissa McCarthy (of Spy, Bridesmaids, and The Heat fame) and Kristen Bell (who you know from Disney's Frozen and The CW's cult classic crime series Veronica Mars).
Melissa plays Michelle Darnell, a former multimillionaire who (with the help of her personal assitant/single parent Claire, played by Kristen) has to find a new way to reclaim her financial throne after being booked in jail for insider trading. Although outwardly comedic and slapstick in nature, The Boss does have tons of empowering themes, especially for women, and here are five of our fave reasons why you need to go see the movie as soon as humanly possible! Who knew a movie with so many laughs could be so inspiring!?
Photo: Universal Pictures
1.) Melissa McCarthy not only starred in 'The Boss,' she also wrote and produced it.
We all know Hollywood can be extremely dominated by men, but Melissa is helping to break up the film industry's good ol' boys club by not only playing the role of a driven and passionate woman, but also writing and producing the film in which she stars!
"If no one behind the camera can really speak to what a woman would say, you don't have that whole point of view, and you're limiting your credibility," she told PRIDE at a recent press event about the importance of having women behind the scenes in a film's creation process, and not just in front of the camera. "Any time you mix it up, the world gets more interesting. If I get a group of people to listen to something or watch something, I certainly don't want every single person to be the same exact type of person. You learn nothing from it because everybody has the same point of reference. If you mix it up and take a good grouping of different demographics, it opens your world to a new point of view."
Is there anything Melissa can't do?! (BTW, The Boss was directed by Melissa's husband Ben Falcone [pictured here], who has worked with her before behind the camera on other projects like Tammy.)
Photo: Universal Pictures
2.) The movie is a welcome addition to all the hilarious films women have been creating and starring in recently.
Speaking of the film industry's boys club, comedy is also a genre that is always spotlighted by men, but in recent years, and with projects by other names like Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Amy Schumer getting praise and attention, that is slowly starting to change. And The Boss is a great example of that.
"I think people like Tina, and Amy, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Melissa, and Amy Schumer, and Sarah Silverman...those women changed the game," Kristen told PRIDE. "In truth, personally, I can name off a lot more successful, entrepreneurial comediennes off the top of my head than I can male comedians. The tides have changed."
Photo: Universal Pictures
3.) Melissa's character may be flawed, but she's still passionate and knows what she wants.
Even though Michelle can be emotionally distant (a result of not growing up with a real family), especially to the people she starts to really care about (like Claire and her daughter), she's still a confident and strong businesswoman who isn't afraid to stick up for herself, proving that even the most confident people have complexities about them. Melissa's hilarious portrayal of Michelle defies the trope that some comedies have of women being one-sided.
Photo: Universal Pictures
4.) Michelle and Claire's friendship is EVERYTHING.
Melissa and Kristen's relationship goes from boss-employee to business partners to that of a real, authentic, family-like friendship, and we are always, always, always here for seeing two women team-up together to do great, and oh-so-funny things — even if there are a few bumps in the road (minor spoiler alert: Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage stars as the evil rival Renault, trying to tear Claire and Michelle's successful business/friendship apart).
Photo: Universal Pictures
5.) Michelle acting as a mentor to Michelle's daughter Rachel is AWESOME.
Yes, Michelle may not be everyone's cup of tea, but we love how she hilariously helps teach Claire's only daughter Rachel to stick up for herself and not let bullies, especially the ones on the opposing Girl Scout troop, get to her.
Photo: Universal Pictures
