Like a Boss

Like a Boss’ premise of best friends Mia (Tiffany Haddish) and Mel (Rose Byrne) selling their makeup company to cosmetics titan Claire Luna (Salma Hayek) — who promptly turns on them — is about as barely-sketched an outline as they come.

But as she’s proven time and again, that’s all the structure Haddish needs to hang her endless string of amusing, frequently raunchy lines, and finds a game partner in her co-star. Similar to her “ability” to blend in with college students at parties in the Neighbors films, it’s a blast to watch Byrne dance up to unassuming 20somethings and act “cool,” though she’s at her best playing off Haddish (and vice versa).

Additional yuks come courtesy of intrusive drones, Hayek sporting Rami Malek’s teeth from Bohemian Rhapsody, and one of the most graphic cakes to appear in a theatrical release, but there’s a steady feeling that it should all be more hilarious than it is.

The flimsy narrative keeps the jokes’ impact shallow — good luck remembering any quotes the following day — and the big “twist” (if it can really be called that) is visible from at least 100 miles away.

The filmmaking is also surprisingly basic, even though Miguel Arteta (Cedar Rapids; Beatriz at Dinner) isn’t exactly known for his cutting-edge visuals. Still, coming off a year in which Long Shot and Booksmart augmented their plentiful laughs with style to spare, his flat direction sticks out considerably more and keeps Like a Boss from being more than an entertaining distraction.

Grade: B-minus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC Classic, Biltmore Grande, and Carolina Cinemark

(Photo: Paramount Pictures)