In this week’s new releases, Melissa McCarthy is the only one who has a hope of stopping the Avengers: Infinity War. So expect Infinity War to dominate once again.
1. Life of the Party (Warner Brothers/New Line, 3,600 Theaters, 105 minutes, Rated PG-13 for sexual material, drug content and partying, Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer at press time: 37% Fresh [54 Reviews]): So, let’s talk about Melissa McCarthy, which is what we always do whenever one of her films comes out.
Some people love everything she does, some hate everything she does. I straddle that line. I think she is a great comedic talent. She is a master of timing and delivery and isn’t afraid to push boundaries. However, I’m not entirely comfortable with her reliance on slapstick. She doesn’t need it, and it takes away from her performance. This film will be no different.
I hold out hope for October’s Can You Ever Forgive Me?, which looks like McCarthy stretching her acting muscles and leaving the pratfalls at home. Until then, this tale of a divorced mom who goes back to college might have a few laughs in it for you.
2. Breaking In (Universal, 2,500 Theaters, 88 Minutes, Rated PG-13 for violence, menace, bloody images, sexual references, and brief strong language, Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer at press time: 34% Fresh [32 Reviews]): This Sunday is Mother’s Day (so happy day to all you mothers out there) and that holiday hasn’t seemed to get a lot of love from the movies…until now.
Yes, you can take the woman who brought you into this world to this film where she can watch another mother take a whole bunch of bad guys out of it.
This film is about a woman (Gabrielle Union) whose children are kidnapped by bandits looking for million hidden in her father’s house. They will kill the kids unless she finds the money for them. She has a different idea. Payback, as the tagline says, is a mother.
Next week in our new releases, if Ms. McCarthy can’t knock the Avengers off the top spot, we’re going to have to call in a Merc…with a Mouth. See you then.
