REVIEW – “The Boss Baby” Carries Diaper-full of Wittiness, Leaves Coherency on Changing Table

By Joe Hammerschmidt

It is still easy to notice how well the feature-length efforts of DreamWorks Animation fall within three distinct categories: the legendary classic (Shrek), the fun yet almost unmemorable time diversion (last year’s Trolls), and the never-worth-mentioning (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas); their first of two film releases in 2017, “The Boss Baby” lends itself to elements belonging to the latter two. While exploding with an overwhelming amount of imagination, well-blended 2D and 3D animation, and a rolodex full of one-liners championed by the leading “baby” voiced by Alec Baldwin, much of that is wasted on a story concept that’s been overdone in many ways. The example here shows at least the attempt to stand out among others who have tried and failed, though still not enough to entertain both kids and parents.

Adapted from Marla Franzee’s book, “Boss Baby” explores the adjustments a family makes in adding a second child to the home. Seven-year-old singular son Tim Templeton (Miles Bakshi) had been the jewel of his parents’ (Lisa Kudrow, Jimmy Kimmel) eye, until he is put through the shock and surprise of dealing with a new baby brother. For any kid his age, it’s impossible to take the news well right away. We explore this process of acceptance through his own vivid imagination, creating many different worlds of play, building up to his own plausible understanding of where babies come from. From a visual standpoint, every scene maintains the storybook style aesthetic, though transitioning out of Tim’s 2D perspective to the Boss’s corporate POV, back into the primary observer scope is not without its jarring nature.

The baby in question (Baldwin) arrives in the most professional way imaginable, dolled up in a suit with an expensive briefcase; right then one could tell this newcomer means a large amount of new business for the parents, representing a boss to all with the natural needs it possesses. Tim’s imagination takes this idea one step further, to hilarious effect. Per his beliefs, newborns who aren’t easily ticklish (apparently, the benchmark for loving cuteness) are relegated to the somewhat corporate side of childrearing, an idea Tim adapts from that of his parents’ employer (a “dog company”), almost to the point of borrowing from sitcom-esque stereotypes, with Tim going at great lengths to prove the baby’s plausible secret life, especially in the guise of possible internal termination, thanks to an old predecessor turned competitor (Steve Buscemi). The primary antithesis is the film’s most relevant aspect to which a parent’s love for their child tends to be ignored by a love for dogs. Preventing the “Puppyco” from their worldwide cuteness assault is the limited goal to which both siblings strive to accomplish, agreeing the boss will be out of Tim’s life afterwards, all while building compassion towards one another.

Writer Michael McCullers and director Tom McGrath hones that family comedy simplicity, keeping it heavily concentrated on the imaginative aspect where it excels at times, buoyed by those carefully placed gags and one-liners; assuredly, the amount of toilet humor is kept in control just enough to prevent other cleaner humor from shining. Simultaneously, when it’s apparently clear the plot is growing thin, said strong humor barrage fails to stretch it out, but manages to distract itself from the decline in coherency. You’d never expect a joke involving Elvis impersonators to land as well as it could nowadays, but when song lyrics require a more accurate English translation for humorous effect, sometimes a viewer just needs to let the laughs fly.

Despite this complete lack of disregard for showing any significant balance for story with character strengths, the dialogue still wins out, and Baldwin is the supreme champion throughout. In re-channeling his inner Jack Donaghy, a side of the actor I personally had thought was lost forever following the end of 30 Rock; and through expressing some of the stronger sight gags on display, the actor exceeds certain expectations even I had considered ahead of witnessing this film in full; this coming from someone who had many a skepticism towards his SNL Trump impersonation.

Baldwin’s stamp on the titular character completes the equation of what would otherwise be a fully mediocre “discovery of sibling affection” story. Some moments will please, and perhaps teach kids on the value of “getting along well” just based on their relatability; others may just only reach the parents for near-satirical laughs, and a surprisingly appropriate “Glengarry Glen Ross” homage, and the rest will leave everyone scratching their heads, wondering why this action is taking place (a playtime scene gone wrong, set to the theme from “SWAT” is the best example). “The Boss Baby” should be good-natured fun that means well, though it struggles to aim higher than it ought to; worth a matinee trek, but plan on keeping expectations low, with bar on laughs set at medium. (C+)

The Boss Baby opens Friday at most area theaters; rated PG for some mild rude humor; 97 minutes.