Starring
the voices of Alec Baldwin, Miles Bakshi, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy
Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Conrad Vernon, James McGrath, Tobey Maguire.
Directed by Tom McGrath. (2017, 97 min).
The
Boss Baby is not quite the movie it was promoted as...thank god.
The
ad campaign had me writing it off as the most pandering and
creatively bankrupt family film of the year, an assembly line product
to be lapped up by undemanding children and their beleaguered parents
("A talking baby in a business suit! Throw in some poop jokes
and kids'll eat it up!!!").
And
if, for some reason, I'd have been coursed by one of my children to
see this in a theater, but happened to arrive ten minutes late, my
worst suspicions would have been confirmed as I rage-watched for the remaining 90 minutes, incredulous that
anyone over the age of ten couldn't see The Boss Baby for
what it was: a creatively bankrupt wallet drainer.
 |
| "Do you know how much saturated fat you're eating?" |
But
exposition is a funny, fickle thing. Too much and it can suck you
right out of a movie experience; too little and you miss the
point entirely. In The Boss Baby, those first ten minutes of
exposition are the difference between a cynical cash grab and a
supremely charming, clever and ultimately heartwarming story that's relatable to
anyone ever faced with welcoming a new sibling to the family.
Watching it, I
was often reminded of Calvin and Hobbes. In my opinion, it's the greatest comic strip of all time, though I didn't think so at first. My wife loved it, but because I was unaware of the
context, the few strips I initially bothered to read seemed stupid. Once I understood that Hobbes was Calvin's stuffed tiger and
their adventures were products of the boy's imagination, every strip was suddenly
magical...and hilarious.
 |
| There's one at every office party. |
While
The Boss Baby doesn't display as much creative genius as Bill
Watterson's classic comic, the same idea is at work here (albeit with
more prerequisite bodily function gags). Despite an amusing Alex
Baldwin in the titular role, The Boss Baby is actually the story of Tim, a
7-year-old single child with an active imagination who's forced to
come to terms with the arrival of his newborn brother. He sees the
baby as a threat with a nefarious agenda: to take away the love his
parents have always reserved exclusively for him. However, the baby
brother - viewed by Tim as a ruthless executive in a business suit -
is on a mission. He informs Tim that the company their parents work
for, Puppy Co., is about reveal a new dog breed so cute that no love
will be left for the babies of the world. The two agree to set aside
their animosity in order to put a stop to it.
The
actual plot is secondary to how Tim views the world and everybody in
it. We've all known kids like this. Hell, a lot of us were
kids like this. Because everything that happens is a product of his
active imagination, The Boss Baby is often hilarious and
occasionally touching. The whimsical nature of the film is charming
enough that even the numerous pop culture references (arguably not
the products of a 7-year-old mind) are forgivable.
But
only if seen from the very beginning. I don't recall the last time a
movie's overall creative success depended almost entirely on the
first few scenes. However, those scenes are what makes The Boss
Baby a memorable & funny family experience, not just another
conceptually pandering product. To my complete surprise, this is a film
worth owning and revisiting.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
"THE
BOSS BABY AND TIM'S TREASURE HUNT THROUGH TIME" - Touted as an
'new mini adventure,' this isn't exactly a new cartoon short. It's a
newly narrated story mostly consisting footage from the original
film.
FEATURETTES
(Most of these are amusing promotional shorts presented as
infomercials or instructional videos, and not about the
film itself):
"The
Forever Puppy Infomercial"
"Babies
vs. Puppies: Who Do YOU Love?"
"The
Boss Baby's Undercover Team"
"BabyCorp
and You"
"Cookies
Are for Closers: Inside BabyCorp"
"The
Great Sibling Competition"
DELETED
SCENES
GALLERY
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...A SURPRISINGLY GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
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