FilmSnobReviews

Title: The Boss Baby
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Tom McGrath
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Lisa Kudrow, Jimmy Kimmel
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

What It Is: When a suit and tie wearing infant (Baldwin) shows up and wrecks the life of Tim (Miles Bakshi) who was a single child everything changes. Now Tim is no longer an only child. This baby, who is a boss baby is here to spy on Tim’s parents since they work for a company that directly competes with the Boss Baby’s interest. Much like real siblings, and I would know, these two cannot get along.

What We Think: There were approximately 2 moments in this film to which I laughed. This film is not very good. Its animation is pretty good and right up to the fairly high standards set by other Dreamworks releases like Trolls and How to Train Your Dragon 2. Narratively it is really flawed and the plot twist is absolutely stupid. This is quintessential Dreamworks. It’s uneven and mediocre following a very good film in the aforementioned Trolls. This does prove well or the upcoming Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie since we got the bad film out of the way. Alec Baldwin does a convincing job as The Boss Baby sadly he’s let down by the dumb jokes and awkward dialogue.

Our Grade: C-, Not good, but it has its heart in the right place. Having a positive message can save a lot when it comes to an animated film. That really is the only reason to take your kids to see this. They’ll certainly enjoy it! That being said you, I and the adults in the building won’t really have anything to find here. I really hope Dreamworks can nail their next two films because Disney/Pixar need some competition. Laika, while a fantastic studio that makes unbelievable films cannot compete monetarily. Blue Sky is just too inconsistent. Universal and their Illumination Studios might find success this summer with Despicable Me 3. Only time will tell.