The head of an empire, Michelle Darnell has become one of the most influential women in America, successfully crushing her opponents. Until one of them, a former lover who feels betrayed and is thirsty for revenge, turns her in for insider trading. Imprisoned for several months, she gets out to find she has lost everything. Only her former assistant Claire is too nice to refuse to take Michelle in. When she discovers how successful the cookies sold by Claire's daughter are at her school, Michelle decides to turn this into a new business through unorthodox methods...

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The comic energy of Melissa McCarthy, who was propelled to success by her Oscar-nominated performance in Bridesmaids, is a weapon of mass destruction that is difficult to control. Without the talents of writer and director Paul Feig with whom she shot The Heat, Spy and the new Ghosbusters (due out this summer), the actress is lost. In The Boss, directed by her husband Ben Falcone, like in Tammy and Identity Thief, McCarthy runs around and overdoes the gags and vulgarity with a simplemindedness that doesn’t help the hollow plot. Not even the actress’ sympathy vote, gained by mastering previous and better roles to perfection, can save a comedy so useless, so devoid of imagination or daring.