The Boss (Cert 15)

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, Ella Anderson, Tyler Labine, Kathy Bates, Cedric Yarbrough, Margo Martindale.

Michelle Darnell (Melissa McCarthy) becomes America's 47th richest woman until her dubious ethics result in a five-year prison sentence for insider trading. She emerges without any friends to greet her. Her bodyguard Tito (Cedric Yarbrough) has abandoned her and long-suffering personal assistant Claire Rawlings (Kristen Bell) has a daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson) to nurture. In desperation, Michelle turns up unannounced on Claire's doorstep and takes up temporary residence on a temperamental sofa bed. From this low-rent headquarters, Michelle rebuilds her empire by creating a flourishing chocolate brownie business from Claire's moreish secret recipe. Moderate success brings the shamed business mogul back into contact with her aggrieved rival, Renault (Peter Dinklage), and former mentor Ida Marquette (Kathy Bates). The Boss is a pleasant, fleeting diversion that fulfils the most basic requirement of a comedy: it makes you laugh. McCarthy barrels through every frame with gusto and Bell dutifully plays the straight woman caught in the eye of the tornado. True, some of the giggles are inelegant and hard won but it's a vast improvement over the tumbleweed of McCarthy's previous film, Tammy, also co-written with her husband Ben Falcone. The ebullient leading lady strains every sinew in her single-minded quest to milk laughs from pratfalls. A throwaway visual gag of a mouthguard is silly enough to induce snorts of derision, while a scene of sisterly bonding over what to wear to a first date showcases McCarthy's gift for physical humour - at the expense of her co-star's blushes. For a limited time, the DVD version is packaged with a free copy of the raucous comedy Identity Thief.

Rating: ***