Boss Baby

So, yeah, this is kinda late...and frankly, I wasn't even going to do a review on this. In fact, my review for this week was going to be King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, due to my mom wanting to see it on Mother's Day, but we cancelled on that. The reason why I went to see this movie, however, is because I was requested to see it by a good friend of mine. Since it's a new film, I won't call it a Friend Request, but I still decided to give it a shot for that reason, plus one more.

That other reason is the fact that Dreamworks is in deep shit.

Yes, their movies rake in big numbers at the box office, but they don't exactly please critics (does anyone even remember Home?). I honestly think they haven't made an actual memorable film since Shrek 2. I mean, there have been some decent ones over the years, but they just aren't good enough to cut the cake. Because of this, I wanted to see if there was something to be taken away from Boss Baby to see if Dreamworks may be on a track back to their former glory.

So for the sake of my best friend and the sake of Dreamworks, I sat down and watched a movie I once berated for its stupid premise. And I walked away feeling pleasantly surprised.

First off, I'll say that Boss Baby is by no means perfect. The plot is decent, but it feels kind of disjointed at times. There's a distinct conflict of objectives, you wonder whether the movie will go one way, or it'll go the other. It becomes quite confusing at times. So, with that being said, if you're expecting some Toy Story style greatness here, keep walking. 

But, if you just want a nice, friendly way to kill time for an hour and thirty, and you want to have fun, this is the best way to do it outside of some shitty 90s action flick.

The comedy is pretty decent for a kids flick. Yes, there's a lot of jokes intended for kids in there, and some remnants of potty humor, but there's also a lot of in-jokes and references that are clearly intended for the adult audience watching the movie with their kids. Honestly, I heard more parents in the audience laughing than kids, and even I managed to get out a few chuckles here and there. That's what I like to see in a kids film, and it's one of the reasons I held Zootopia in such high regard last year.

Another high point for Boss Baby is the range of talent they got behind those mics. I ridiculed the fact that they roped Alec Baldwin in for this thing, but I walked away thanking the lord that he was involved. I really don't think this movie would have worked if he wouldn't have been behind the face of that baby. He's funny and exudes charm like no other, and I love that he's making his comeback after his bullshit from 10 years ago. The kid behind the main character of Tim, Miles Bakshi, is also really good for a young actor, and they got the older version of him voiced by Tobey Maguire, a face that plagued my childhood, but I'm not complaining. Also Steve Buscemi is in this movie...I fucking love Steve Buscemi, but I digress.

And finally, possibly my favorite thing about this movie is just how well the animation is done. It switches styles sometimes, but it all remains very much on point. I think my favorite has to be the paper designed bit near the end of the movie, but honestly there's not many scenes that disappoint on the visual scale. It's very nicely done.

Look, if you're going into this with a serious mindframe, expect to be disappointed. But, sometimes you just need to let a movie bring you into its world and relax and have fun with it, and that's what Boss Baby does well. It's not perfect by any means, but it's a damn sight better than Home, and I'm giving it a respectful 6.3 out of 10 for what it is. Could this spell a good future for Dreamworks? It's unknown, but it's a start.