I became a fan of Alec Baldwins when I saw Beetlejuice in the theater when I was a kid. That love was rekindled with 30 Rock. But even with how much I enjoy Alec Baldwin I still thought The Boss Baby looked terrible. A few people told me it was actually pretty funny, so I went into this with an open mind. Man where those people wrong.
The Boss Baby is the story of Tim Templeton (Miles Bakshi, older Tim, the narrator is voiced by Tobey Maguire), a 7 year old with a wild imagination whose life is turned upside down when is baby brother shows up… in a taxi cab. However, Tim’s new baby brother, known only as “The Boss Baby” until the end of the film, acts and talks like an adult (Alec Baldwin). It turns out Tim’s parents (Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow) work for Puppy Co. Puppy Co. has a plan to take all the love away from babies with a new puppy and it’s Boss Baby’s job to figure out what that new puppy is and stop it before it’s too late.
The plot to this movie is about as absurd as they come. I have one theory to explain this nonsense: Tim is established right away as having a very vivid imagination. The only thing that makes sense to me is the whole movie is actually Tim’s imagination and the movie is actually about him coming to terms with having a new baby brother and Tim being worried that his parents won’t have enough love for both of them. If my theory is true than the film makes a lot more sense and I can forgive it a little bit. However, while there are moments in the film that help with my theory, there are just as many moments that tear it apart too, so I can’t be sure if it’s true or not. Hence it being my theory.
The problem with this movie is that it’s just not funny. I will admit that I did laugh out loud like three times throughout the film, so some of the moments did work, but three out of an entire film is pretty bad. Later in the film Tim and Boss Baby are being held captive in their own home by a brutish thug dressed like a nanny and if feels like a bad sketch from Animaniacs. There is some creative stuff in here to build the world, Boss Baby’s team of baby’s are pretty cute, and there are a few moments of genuine emotion between Tim and Boss Baby that even the most heartless person couldn’t ignore, but sadly none of that adds up to this being a good film.
The film is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and Dolby 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. It’s certainly a vibrant and colorful movie and the sound is fine.
Extras include: NEW Mini Adventure: The Boss Baby and Tim’s Treasure Hunt Through Time (3 min.) The Forever Puppy Infomercial (2 min.) BabyCorp and You (3 min.) Babies vs. Puppies: Who Do YOU Love? (3 min.) The Boss Baby’s Undercover Team: (2 min.) Cookies Are For Closers: Inside BabyCorp: (3 min.) The Great Sibling Competition: (3 min.) Happy Accidents: The Deleted Scenes of The Boss Baby: (11 min.)
Admittedly I am not the target audience for The Boss Baby. Not only am I no longer a kid, I was an only child and I am currently not a parent. So things in this movie that should have struck a chord with me didn’t. Regardless, I did not enjoy this movie. It mostly just confused me. I’m sure kids enjoy this movie, but I’m not sure how adults can.
Dreamworks presents The Boss Baby. Written by Michael McCullers. Based on “The Boss Baby” by Marla Frazee. Directed by Tom McGrath. Starring: Alec Baldwin, Miles Bakshi, Tobey Maguire, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow and Steve Buscemi. Running time: 97 min. Rating: PG. Released on Blu-Ray: July 25, 2017.
