Review – The Boss Baby
From the studio brought us animated gems like Shrek (2001), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), and Trolls (2016), comes The Boss Baby, an entertaining, fun, ridiculous flick that will slap a smile on your kid’s face for an hour and a half and yours for about 45 minutes.
Alec Baldwin voices Boss Baby, a suit-wearing, briefcase-carrying baby who works for Baby Corp, a place where infants with adult-like minds work to preserve infant love everywhere. Boss Baby infiltrates the family of Tim (Miles Christopher Bakshi), an only child who becomes immediately jealous of the Baby’s entrance into the family. When Tim finds out Baby isn’t a real baby, he threatens to narc him out to his parents until Baby informs Tim he is on a mission to save Baby Corp. from a rising company known as Puppy Corp. Together, the two go on a mission to save Baby Corp. and make Tim an only child once more.
Alec Baldwin is sensational as our titular infant. Everyone will get a kick out of Baldwin’s performance. Whether he is reincarnating his legendary salesman from Glengarry Glen Ross (1993) or being forced to eat some mushed vegetables instead of a sushi roll, Baldwin will crack you up with every line. Baldwin’s deep, raspy voice is a perfect contrast with this adorable, big-headed baby. The rest of the voice-work in the film is fine, but it’s Baldwin’s show and he crushes it.
I really liked the first half of the movie when Tim and Baby were at odds with one another. I thought that the movie should have stuck with this path for the entire movie. They still could have had Baby work for Baby Corp. but instead of the whole Puppy Corp. rivalry, have Baby be down to conduct a census or something to keep the movie more contained, because it really goes off the rails in the second half. Tim and the Baby get caught up in this crazy plot to stop Puppy Corp. that involves them being chased by a bodyguard, who is apparently a professional skateboarder, impersonating Elvis, and going to Las Vegas, all without parental guidance. It is a brightly colored, eye-popping Vegas finale, but one that will make the kids laugh but undermine the adults.
It’s not nearly as original as Shrek or adult as How to Train Your Dragon, but The Boss Baby is a pretty entertaining trip. Sure, the poop jokes get stale after about the fifth one and the second half of the movie is a mess, but the amusing first half and stellar voice-work from Alec Baldwin make The Boss Baby a fun time.
MY RATING – 2.5/4
Did you see The Boss Baby? What did you think? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.