46
Metascore
32 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattEntertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattA charming and generally painless way to spend two hours. It’s not nearly as sharp as some of the best stuff she’s done, but it’s pointedly kinder too, wrapping even its nastiest characters.
- 63The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldThe Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldIt’s bland and forgettable, and director Falcone still hasn’t figured out how not to sabotage his supporting cast (why hire the hilarious Chris Parnell if you’re not going to let him be funny?), but it’s a movie a lot like the presence of McCarthy herself — there’s an inner sweetness that shines through.
- 63Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsThe movie’s not as slapstick-dependent as advertised. It’s a less coarse and more heartfelt project than McCarthy’s disappointing headliner gigs, such as “Tammy” and “The Boss.” (The Paul Feig-directed comedies “Bridesmaids,” “The Heat” and “Spy” are far better.) The new movie renders matters of directorial finesse and comic technique essentially irrelevant.
- 58The PlaylistLena WilsonThe PlaylistLena WilsonMaybe if the film had dwelled on its more off-color scenes instead of falling back on typical comedy fodder, it would be truly magnetic. Unfortunately, it’s more like a sloppy friend who, despite starting the night off full of joie de vivre, you now have to help stumble home.
- 50Boston GlobeTom RussoBoston GlobeTom RussoThoroughly vanilla comedy, a movie jammed with well-meaning girl power messages but surprisingly little edge.
- 50Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzArizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzIt’s a movie devoid of storytelling momentum, conflict and, worst of all, much in the way of laughs.
- The film is a cream puff about a mother-daughter relationship, masquerading as a raucous return-to-campus comedy, most of it predictable.
- 50Slant MagazineEric HendersonSlant MagazineEric HendersonNovelty and Melissa McCarthy’s comedic chops only carry Life of the Party to midterms, and it soon becomes apparent that it’s a star vehicle without any engine.
- 29TheWrapRobert AbeleTheWrapRobert AbeleWhatever Life of the Party needs its star to be, it gives us — frumpy, hot, weird, normal, kind, mean, humiliated, heroic, limber, uncoordinated, sexy, unsexy — in the desperate hope that you’ll latch on to some nugget of McCarthy-patented brazenness and you’ll laugh, as if story and cohesion meant nothing.
- 20The GuardianBenjamin LeeThe GuardianBenjamin LeeLife of the Party’s predictable and lethargic box-ticking of scenes (accidentally getting high – check; dance off – check), gives it the unremarkable stench of something you’ve half-watched on cable before.