Tag: Melissa McCartney

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‘Life of The Party’ Review

“Deanna: What am I going to do? I’m a forty-something year-old woman that doesn’t even have her degree. Oh, my God. I know what I’m going to do.”

This is the main point of the movie as Deanna, on the eve of her daughters senior year in college, finds out that her husband wants a divorce.  Heart broken, she doesn’t want to have any regrets as the biggest regret of her life faces her head on, that of the fact that she had to drop out of college being so close to graduating with her degree in Archeology.  The problem is, she is now enrolled in the same school as her daughter.

The Warner Brother film stars Melissa McCartney as the middle age woman who seeks to do just that and surprisingly the crowd that she encounters in college is remarkably accepting of her as she navigates anew around the campus that she once receded at more than 20 years ago.

Overall at first mention of having another “party” film starring McCartney, might sound a little like “over the top”, with that of her stand up comedy and crude humor, but all in all, this film is the best that I’ve seen in a while by her.  The film has  a solid message of the power of the mother daughter bond that even though there are a few funny, yet embarrassing moments where McCartney and daughter Maddie (Molly Gordon) strive to succeed in getting back on top after her father runs off with another younger woman.

The plot thickens when McCartney meets Jack, an attractive younger man and the two of them form a intimate relationship, especial when she realizes whose mother is Jacks.

The film is packed with the same quirkiness that makes McCartney appealing with just a touch of maturity as it enters into a slightly elevated storyline.  In addition the chemistry between McCartney and Gordon is exceptional and realistic as it shows just how close a mother- daughter relationship can be while at the same time, the same embarrassing thought of ‘mom in college’ haunts Gordon all throughout.  Seeing as Gordon is a relative unknown, it’ll be interesting to watch her grow and mature as a rising actress. She definitely has a knack for comedy going up against McCartney who is known for it.

Overall LIfe of the Party came out in theaters, in perfect time for the Mother’s day weekend.  It’s a film that is best to see for women with their moms as it perfectly captures the uniqueness and emotion that goes into someone facing divorce and having to start anew with a daughter as the only good thing in one’s life.  It came in second at the box office with just over 17.8 million, though it wasn’t enough to catch the Avengers: Infinity War which is topping 1 billion domestically.

See Life of the Party in a theater near you.

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“Ghostbusters” All Female Reboot

After nearly two decades, the ghost hunting is in the hands of 4 witty wise cracking ladies, whose ultimate goal is to be taken seriously in a new age of haunting ghosts.

The reboot stars, Melissa McCartney as Abby Yates and Kristin Wiig as Erin Gilbert the team who is ultimately the first and most enthusiastic in the world of the paranormal.  They begin with a book, and eventually branch out into the world of chasing down and catching ghosts in order to prove that ghosts do exist.  Together with a nuclear engineer (Kate Mckinnon) and a subway worker (Leslie Jones), the four woman must band together to stop the paranormal from reeking havoc on the living.

Overall, the all new Ghostbusters will have audiences laughing and ultimately cheering on these unlikely woman who are now chasing down ghosts to ultimately prove their existence.  With cameos from nearly all the orginal cast including Bill Murray as the serious political doubter, Dan Aykroyd as the taxi cab driver, and Ernie Hudson as Jones’ uncle, who lends out one of his cars which ultimately gets wreaked by the paranormal, as well as short cameos from Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver, these moments add to the enjoyment and nastalgia of the original 1984 film.

At 1 hour and 56 minutes, Ghostbusters presents a modern day audience with a truly unique story line while adding a few slight references to the original.  The film came out on Friday July 15 in theaters worldwide and according to its Friday estimate, brought in just over 17 million, nearly passing the Comedy Animated Film, Secret Life of Pets, which topped the box office last week.  It’ll be close to see which one makes it for number one this week.

Both the orignal as well as this reboot was the creative vision of Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, who passed away nearly two years before the reboot was released.  The 2016 film was a tribute to him.

See it now in a theater near you.  A unique story with an iconic twist for a modern day audience.

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“Central Intelligence” Review

20 years after high school graduation, big man on campus Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart) can’t believe that his life has turned into some what of a predictable one as an accountant, though he is married to his high school sweetheart, Maggie (Danielle Nicolet), Joyner refuses to go back to his high school reunion.  In a random Facebook friend request, now Joyner is pulled into the world of espionage in order to help high school buddy, Bob (Robbie) Stone, (Dwayne Johnson) crack the code with his computer accounting skills.

Overall, Central Intelligence will have audiences laughing all the way through.  The chemistry of Hart and Johnson is impeccable and a treat to see Hart in a semi serious role as he is basically forced into going on this adventure with his friend.  Also making an unplanned cameo is Melissa McCartney, who plays Robbie’s crush at the reunion.

All in All, Central Intelligence is a fun, date night movie for anyone who just wants to forget and have a good laugh.  Opening weekend, it brought in roughly 35.5 million domestically and is currently playing at a theater near you.