Movie review
April 7, 2016 · 91 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Boss is a 2016 comedy starring Melissa McCarthy as Michelle Darnell, a ruthless self-made billionaire CEO imprisoned for insider trading who loses everything and moves in with her former assistant and young daughter. She then rebuilds her fortune by launching a brownie company that uses a local troop of Dandelion Girls (a Girl Scout-style group) to sell the product, all while learning to value personal relationships over pure ambition. The film contains no noticeable woke or identity-driven elements. Its core story is a straightforward redemption tale built on broad slapstick, crude jokes, and light corporate satire.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Boss.
Woke representation / casting
Lead role fits Melissa McCarthy’s established bold comedic persona perfectly; supporting cast (Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage) serves story logic with no audience-visible forced diversity or identity signaling.
Woke political dialogue
No political speeches, activist rhetoric, or ideological debates; all humor is character-driven slapstick and situational comedy.
Identity-driven story themes
Includes a female assistant, her daughter, and a troop of girls in a cookie-selling business, but these serve broad comedic redemption without activist messaging or identity politics.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Light, generic mockery of ruthless business tactics and white-collar crime; presents no modern activist-style systemic critique of capitalism, patriarchy, or cultural norms.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Zero reports of woke complaints or backlash; reception centered solely on comedy quality and crude humor.
Creator track record context
No relevant prior work from any credited creator demonstrates a pattern of identity-driven or activist projects that shaped this film.
Production
