Tiffany Haddish: Like a Boss
Like a Boss (2020)
Directed by Miguel Arteta
Starring Rose Byrne, Salma Hayek, Tiffany Haddish and Billy Porter
Oh Tiffany Haddish! The hilarious Girls Trip was your breakout roll in 2017. You followed it up with the almost as funny Night School and Nobody’s Fool in 2018. In 2019, you crushed the animated films market with voice work in the second Lego Movie, Secret Life of Pets and Angry Birds. Then you took a “serious” turn in the critical and financial flop The Kitchen. What would you do in 2020?
Not surprisingly, you starred in a film that accentuates all your comic strengths. Alongside superb actors Rose Byrne and Salma Hayek, Like a Boss is Haddish’s funniest film to date.
At its core, Like a Boss is a love story about best friends who need each other, then think they don’t, but ultimately realize they do. This troupe is overused with male actors, but few have successfully utilized it with female leads.
There is no flash or exceptionalism in Miguel Arteta’s direction. The sparkle comes from the leading ladies. The script is full of banter, and I’m sure a little improvisation was at work as well. The supporting actors bring a “sketch comedy” like precision, no more so than Billy Porter playing Barrett, an employee of our main characters who own a makeup brand and store.
One scene in particular elicited laughter from the theater like no other in the film.
The last act felt slightly rushed, and, with an eighty-three minute run time, it would have been nice to see the film’s climax play out a little longer. But being funny throughout is the goal of every comedy, and Like a Boss easily crosses that finish line.
If Girls Trip was an A-, and Night School and Nobody’s Fool are B-‘s, then Like A Boss is a solid A.