Like a Boss

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Miguel Arteta directs. Jas Shelton behind the camera. Christophe Beck scores. Jay Deuby cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
• 2Earned back only 93% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 3Released 6 years ago.
• 4Directed by Miguel Arteta, shot by Jas Shelton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Christophe Beck. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Jay Deuby shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne and Salma Hayek Pinault carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "The world of beauty is about to get ugly.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt7545266 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Jas Shelton

Original score

Christophe Beck

Editing

Jay Deuby

Production design

Theresa Guleserian

Costume design

Sekinah Brown

Makeup / hair

Chris Lyons

Stunt coordinator

Alan D'Antoni

Runtime

83 min · 1h 23m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$29,000,000

Box office

$26,900,000

Return

93% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Like a Boss (2020) ↗

Also by

Miguel Arteta

• 
  The Office

  2005 · ★ 8.6
• 
  Succession

  2018 · ★ 8.3
• 
  Freaks and Geeks

  1999 · ★ 8.2
• 
  Six Feet Under

  2001 · ★ 8.1
• 
  American Horror Story

  2011 · ★ 8.1
• 
  Homicide: Life on the Street

  1993 · ★ 8.1

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  "Zhuzh It Up" Clip

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots2020-03-27
  ★ 4/10

  The dead of winter is the time studios like to shove their bottom-basement junk into theaters, bringing us movies that are instantly forgettable and brimming with mediocrity. The female-driven buddy comedy “Like A Boss” is a great example. This tolerable movie is perfectly fine for a mindless girls’ night out, but it never sets its standards high enough to achieve much more. But why would it? Best friends Mia (Tiffany Haddish) and Mel (Rose Byrne) are living their best lives running a makeup company they’ve built from the ground up. Things haven’t been going so well on the financial front, and the women find themselves over their heads in debt. When cosmetics industry titan Claire Luna (Salma Hayek) presents them with a huge buyout offer, it puts a strain on their friendship that the two may not ever be able to repair. If you’re looking for a fun and insightful view at the real-life experience of female business owners, you won’t find it here. What you will find is yet another male-written movie that feeds the narrative that the beauty industry equals female empowerment. It’s not offensive, but it’s a stale idea. How many movies can you count that use the old “you need makeup to feel pretty, but also never forget to be yourself!” narrative? It’s not offensive, but it’s another Hollywood rubber stamp on what the industry thinks are the ingredients necessary for a movie that’s supposed to be made for women. The comedy is sometimes funny but mostly strained, as Haddish and Byrne are constantly struggling in an effort to sell the lousy one-liners. Their chemistry is terrific, but there’s only so much these two talented ladies can do with such a lackluster script. Hayek is an over-the-top caricature who is given very little to do. Her shtick can be amusing in the right place at the right time, but it isn’t here. This isn’t a terrible movie, but it’s light years away from being an instant classic. In fact, this tired effort wouldn’t even orbit the general conversation. But “Like a Boss” is still just barely good enough if you are a fan of the two leads or if you’re looking for easy-to-swallow entertainment.

  Read full review ↓
• Kamurai2021-02-07
  ★ 6/10

  Good watch, could watch again, and can recommend. It's a middle-class business versus high-class business trope, which normally would be a poor vs the rich / elite trope, so it's a slightly different spin on on a family setup. The real story seems to be a dysfunctional family sister-sister trope as they're going through the first. There is a lot of fun in watching the 3 ladies "fight" each other, but it's doesn't feel like a very impactful or eventful story. A decent throw away watch designed for lady business people.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Artists First

  US

• 

  Paramount Pictures

  US

Key crew

• CastingBen Harris
• Stunt CoordinatorAlan D'Antoni
• ChoreographerAakomon Jones
• Property MasterKatrina Rice
• Stunt CoordinatorSteven Ritzi
• Second Assistant DirectorEmily McGovern
• Assistant Property MasterAdam Miller
• Unit Production ManagerBarbara Kelly
• First Assistant DirectorRichard L. Fox
• Script SupervisorAmber Harley
• Set Production AssistantRiley Flanagan
• ProducerItay Reiss
• ProducerJoel Zadak
• ProducerPeter Principato
• Production DesignTheresa Guleserian
• Executive ProducerNicolas Stern
• Set DecorationShanna Worsham
• Executive ProducerTiffany Haddish
• EditorJay Deuby
• Costume DesignSekinah Brown
• CastingKris Redding
• CastingAllison Jones
• Stunt DoubleSarah Irwin
• StuntsJwaundace Candece

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• investor
• cosmetics

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2020-01-07R· New York City, New York
• Physical2020-04-21R· DVD, Blu-ray

Also known as

International titles

• Limited PartnersUS
• 有限合伙人CN
• Гламурные боссыRU
• Jak bossPL
• Amiche in affariIT