Life of the Party

This movie has been done before, namely 1986’s “Back to School” which starred Rodney Dangerfield returning to his son’s college.

My trouble is that I’m a child of the 1980’s, one where I worked at a mom and pop video store in a quaint American suburb (Plano, Tx) and actually spent years in the area of customer service and dealt with people always asking for the hottest new release. Also I’m saying is that streaming services and pre-On demand did not exist.

I worked there in the mid 1980s through the early 1990s. Then somewhere along the way real life happened and the video store became a thing of the past. Me, personally, I am shocked there is not a single Blockbuster Video left in the country. (If I’m not mistaken there is one left in the state of Indiana.)

But I digress, since we’re here to discuss Melissa McCarthy’s “Life of the Party” another tale directed by husband Ben Falcone (who makes a cameo appearance as an Uber driver).

In this tale, her daughter attends her husband’s alma matter, a place where she dropped out of college just a few credits short of receiving her own degree.

Fun to watch is Gillian Jacobs Hanna, a girl who claims to have awaken from a coma and woke up eight years later to find out she had C cup breasts. Also amusing is the fact she does not care that she was cross-eyed.

Her character, Deanna actually befriends her daughter Amada’s friends. Her daughter is played by Adria Arjomna, who was last seen in the sequel to “Pacific Rim” with “Pacific Rim: Uprising” earlier this year.

This story also contains a plethora of 1980s fashion faux pas, such as the big shoulder pads from the dresses worn in 1989’s “Working Girl.” Also amusing is the inclusion of some bullies who get their just desserts before movie’s end.

Also amusing are the affairs that occur, since their inclusion is something that is just mentioned after the fact.

Enjoyable to watch is the relationship with Deanna and best friend in Maya Rudolph’s Christine character. The duo also appeared in 2011’s “Bridesmaids” together and their on-screen chemistry here works to justy the right degree.

Also cool to the proceedings is Christina Aguliera as herself, but relevant to the story as a plot point, since her cousin Leonir (Heidi Gardner) is Deanna’s quiet and creepy roommate. Her ability to creep up on Deanna accounts for some genuine laughs in this fun flick.

I do not think this one will be a gigantic mammoth hit like “The Heat” or the 2016 “Ghostbusters” reboot from couple of years ago, but this one is worth the price of admission.


Grade: B-
(Review by Ricky Miller)