Life Of The Party Review: 2 Ups & 7 Downs

2. The Emotional Beats Feel Incredibly Forced

Like so many comedies, Life of the Party can't just be content to serve up 100 minutes of laughs, but has to push the Serious Emotion button for added measure.

While Blockers recently reminded just how well a comedy can combine crude gags with genuine heart, here it feels the absolute opposite of that: howlingly disingenuous.

Far too much of the movie is spent focusing on the "emotional" bond between McCarthy's character and her daughter, as well as McCarthy's relationship woes, and not enough on the female empowerment aspect, which is hinted at in far more successful fashion.

Because the characters aren't especially likeable and the humour doesn't really pop, it's difficult to be particularly invested in all this feel-good hokum.