THE BOSS BABY Review by Lisa Johnson Mandell — The birth of yet another classic Alec Baldwin character

Okay, before I even start, I just have to get this off my chest: Does anybody else see a likeness between Boss Baby and Presidential Press Secretary Sean Spicer? I know any resemblance is purely coincidental, since Fox animators began work on Boss Baby long before Spicer became part of the national zeitgeist. Maybe there’s more of a resemblance between Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer and Boss Baby:

But still, I’m just sayin,’ it was distracting me through the whole movie.

Not that The Boss Baby isn’t joyously distracting on it’s own right.  The voice work by Alec Baldwin is sublime, and the supporting cast of Lisa Kudrow as the Mom, Jimmy Kimmel as the Dad, Steve Buscemi as the bad guy and Tobey Maguire as the narrator, are simply music to your ears.

But the colorful animation and the creative plot are fun as well, although I’m not sure the younger kids will quite understand it. At the beginning we’re shown that  seven-year-old, only child Tim (Miles Christopher Bakshi) has quite the imagination, so when the family’s latest addition arrives with a suit, a tie and a demanding and manipulative demeanor, it’s Tim’s own personal take on the situation that we’re watching.

Now the precocious nine-year-old who attended the critics screening with me (yes, I take a member of the intended demo whenever possible–see Ghost in the Shell review) said “This is one of the funniest, if not THE funniest, movies I’ve ever seen!” So perhaps I’m worrying for nothing.

In any case, I personally found plenty of LOL moments, and I’m a tough audience. I’m not sure if this one will crack the Beauty and the Beast hold on the box-office, but it’s certainly good for a giggle. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a little juvenile humor every now and then.

1 Hour 37 Minutes

Rated PG

THE BOSS BABY Review by Lisa Johnson Mandell — The birth of yet another classic Alec Baldwin character