Review: Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne lead hilarious comedy 'Like a Boss'

There's a good chance there won't be a funnier movie all year than "Like a Boss." 

If there is, well, hooray for us. But for now, this uproarious comedy offers huge laughs, a playful message of friendship and a fun, easygoing way to beat the January blahs.  

Rose Byrne and Tiffany Haddish star as Mel & Mia, best friends since childhood who share a cosmetics line together. 

Mel (Byrne) is the more business-minded of the two, while Mia (Haddish, hilarious in her best performance since "Girls Trip") is the creative half of the partnership. When they sink into debt, beauty world big wig Claire Luna (Salma Hayek) offers them a lifeline with an offer to buy their business, which tests Mel & Mia's friendship and commitment to one another. 

That loose structure gives Byrne and Haddish a framework and within it they let loose, and the bawdy, R-rated laughs come fast and frequently. Supporting players Jennifer Coolidge, Natasha Rothwell, Ari Graynor, Karan Soni and Emmy winner Billy Porter ("Pose") help create a free-flowing comic vibe where everyone gets a turn at the plate and everyone lands on base.

Byrne and Haddish are especially refreshing together, and believable as each other's lifelong ride-or-dies. The screenplay by Sam Pitman and Adam Cole-Kelly has plenty to say about adult friendships, motherhood and the societal pressures put on women, but never takes itself too seriously or lets anything get in the way of a good laugh. 

Director Miguel Arteta ("Cedar Rapids," "The Good Girl") has a knack for taking typical-sounding comedies and making them better by injecting them with heart, humor and authenticity. That's what he does here, and he does it like a boss. 

'Like a Boss'

GRADE: B

Rated R: language, crude sexual material, and drug use

Running time: 83 minutes