''Life of the Party'' is a 2018 American
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Ben Falcone
Benjamin Scott Falcone (born August 25, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is married to actress Melissa McCarthy, with whom he co-starred in '' God’s Favorite Idiot''. He has also had cameos in '' ''Bridesmaids', ''Iden ...
and written by Falcone and
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...
. The film, starring McCarthy and
Molly Gordon
Molly June Gordon is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the drama TV series '' Animal Kingdom'' (2016–2018), as Nicky, and in the comedy films '' Life of the Party'' (2018) as Maddie, ''Booksmart'' (2019) as Triple A, and ...
, follows a newly divorced mother who returns to college to complete her degree, and ends up bonding with her daughter's friends.
Produced by
On the Day Productions and
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
, the film was released on May 11, 2018, by
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...
. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $65 million.
Plot
After dropping off their 22-year-old daughter Maddie to her senior year at Decatur University in Atlanta, Dan tells Deanna that he wants a divorce because he has fallen in love with another woman, realtor Marcie. Heartbroken, Deanna visits her parents Mike and Sandy to tell them what happened, with Mike furiously denouncing Dan for making Deanna drop out of college in her final year because she was pregnant, as well as his overbearing ways during their marriage.
Deanna visits Maddie to tell the news and about her plans to enroll at Decatur University to finish her degree in Archaeology. Maddie is doubtful, but supportive. She introduces Deanna to her sorority friends Amanda, neurotic Debbie, and Helen. Deanna later meets her
agoraphobic
Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can in ...
and chronically depressed roommate Leonor. On the first day of school, she meets demeaning girls Jennifer and Trina, who mock Deanna's age.
Deanna, supported by good friend Christine, joins Dan, supported by Marcie, at a mediation session to prepare their divorce papers. Marcie intends to sell their house without Deanna's approval.
Maddie and her friends take Deanna to a frat party, where she meets a student named Jack, a friend of Maddie's boyfriend, Tyler. The next morning mother and daughter catch each other leaving the bedrooms of their respective guys. Jack has truly fallen for Deanna, and they have sex again
in the stacks at the library.
Another night, they attend an 80's-themed party where Deanna has a dance-off with Jennifer, resulting in earning the respect of her schoolmates. She has become both “one of the girls” but also a trusted mentor to Maddie's sorority sisters, who make her an honorary sister. Deanna is also doing great in her classes, until she has a
midterm exam
A midterm exam, is an exam given near the middle of an academic grading term, or near the middle of any given quarter or semester. Midterm exams are a type of formative assessment, to measure students' grasp of the course materials and identi ...
that requires an oral presentation. Her
stage fright
Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...
causes her to collapse part way through.
While Deanna is at a restaurant with Christine and Frank (her husband), and another couple (Bill and Amy) from their group of friends, Dan and Marcie unexpectedly show up, declaring they are getting married. Jack turns out to be Marcie's son, and, knowing about Deanna sleeping with Jack, Marcie walks out in disgust.
While Maddie attends Dan and Marcie's wedding, Deanna and her student friends unknowingly get high from chocolate bark laced with marijuana, and they head to the reception, where they start wrecking the wedding hall. Dan, Marcie and Maddie find them and Marcie tells Deanna she is cut off financially from Dan.
Deanna tries to make amends with Maddie, and tells her that she is leaving college since she has no means of paying the rest of her tuition. The girls decide to throw a party to raise the money. No one shows up as they are at a
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
concert, so Helen posts a Twitter message claiming Aguilera will be at the party after her show. Christine and Frank attend, along with Mike and Sandy. Mike offers to give Deanna a
401K
In the United States, a 401(k) plan is an employer-sponsored, defined-contribution, personal pension (savings) account, as defined in subsection 401(k) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Periodical employee contributions come directly out of their ...
check to pay her tuition, but Deanna refuses. The party is soon filled with people expecting Aguilera, when a suspicious Jennifer confronts Helen, telling her that if Aguilera doesn't show up in three seconds, Jennifer will put Helen in another coma. The two girls engage in a serious fist fight until Deanna intervenes, telling them that girls should support each other and behave like friends. Suddenly, Aguilera (who turns out to be Leonor's cousin) arrives, and puts on a show with Deanna and the girls to an excited crowd.
Deanna still needs to complete her presentation in class. She is nervous until Maddie, Helen, Amanda, Debbie and all the sorority sisters show up to support her, and this time, Deanna manages to give the presentation with ease. At the end of the year, Deanna and Maddie graduate together, with all their friends and family there to support them. Maddie encourages Deanna to throw her cap in the air. She does so, and as it falls it hits Dan in the face.
Cast
*
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...
as Deanna "Dee Rock" Miles (née Cook), a recently divorced woman who returns to college 22 years later for a second act.
*
Molly Gordon
Molly June Gordon is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the drama TV series '' Animal Kingdom'' (2016–2018), as Nicky, and in the comedy films '' Life of the Party'' (2018) as Maddie, ''Booksmart'' (2019) as Triple A, and ...
as Maddie Miles, Dan and Deanna's daughter.
*
Gillian Jacobs
Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (; born October 19, 1982) is an American actress and director. She is known for her roles as Britta Perry on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015) and Mickey Dobbs on the Netflix romantic comedy series ''Love'' (2016 ...
as Helen, a sorority sister and Maddie's friend, who is older than the rest due to having been in a coma for eight years.
*
Luke Benward
Luke Aaron Benward (born May 12, 1995) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Will in the Disney film '' Cloud 9'' (2014). His first starring role was Billy Forrester in ''How to Eat Fried Worms'' (2006), and as Char ...
as Jack Strong, a popular and handsome frat boy, who has sex with Deanna at a party and becomes obsessed with her.
*
Debby Ryan
Deborah Ann Ryan (born May 13, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She started acting professionally onstage at the age of seven, and was later discovered during Disney Channel's nationwide search for new talent.
Ryan's work for Disney Ch ...
as Jennifer, a "mean girl" and Deanna's enemy.
*
Heidi Gardner
Heidi Lynn Gardner (born July 27, 1983) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She has been a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2017, beginning in season 43.
Early life
Gardner was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. S ...
as Leonor, Deanna's depressive and weird roommate and, then, best friend.
*
Maya Rudolph
Maya Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''), and later played supporting roles in the films '' 50 First Dates'' ...
as Christine Davenport, Deanna's neurotic and heavy drinking best friend.
* Jessie Ennis as Debbie, a sorority sister and Maddie's friend, who always requests others' permission before talking.
*
Adria Arjona
Adria Arjona Torres (born April 25, 1992) is an actress based in the United States. She played Dorothy Gale in the Oz book adaptation ''Emerald City'' (2017), Anathema Device in the TV adaptation of ''Good Omens'' (2019), and Bix Caleen in '' ...
as Amanda, another sorority sister and Maddie's friend, with "issues".
*
Matt Walsh as Daniel "Dan" Miles, Deanna's ex-husband and Maddie's father.
*
Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer (born March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received critical acclaim and six nominations for the Primetim ...
as Marcie Strong, a real estate agent and Dan's lover.
*
Jacki Weaver
Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...
as Sandy Cook, Deanna's mother and Maddie's grandmother.
*
Stephen Root
Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the television sitcom ''NewsRadio'', as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and provided the voices of Bill Dauterive and Buck Stricklan ...
as Michael "Mike" Cook, Deanna's father and Maddie's grandfather.
*
Jimmy O. Yang
Jimmy O. Yang (; born June 11, 1987) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and writer. As an actor, he is best known for starring as Jian-Yang in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'', as Dr. Chan Kaifang in the Netflix comedy series ''Sp ...
as Tyler, Maddie's boyfriend and Jack's friend.
*
Chris Parnell
Thomas Christopher Parnell (; born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1998 to 2006 and played the role of Dr. Leo Spaceman on ''30 Rock''. In animation, he voices Cyril Figgis ...
as Mr. Wayne Truzack, Deanna's professor and former classmate.
* Damon Jones as Frank Davenport, Christine's husband.
* Yani Simone as Trina, Jennifer's snarky sidekick.
;Cameos
*
Ben Falcone
Benjamin Scott Falcone (born August 25, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is married to actress Melissa McCarthy, with whom he co-starred in '' God’s Favorite Idiot''. He has also had cameos in '' ''Bridesmaids', ''Iden ...
as the Uber driver.
*
Karen Maruyama
Karen Maruyama (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress and comedian.
Career
Maruyama has appeared on television in supporting roles in a number of sitcoms, including recurring characters on ''The Jamie Foxx Show'', ''Strip Mall'', ''Suddenly ...
as Mediator
*
Nat Faxon
Nathaniel Faxon (born October 11, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. A frequent presence on comedic films and TV series, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing ''The Descendants'' (2011) ...
as Lance
*
Sarah Baker as Gildred
* Steve Mallory as Bill
* Courtney Patterson as Amy
* Steve Falcone (Falcone's real-life father) as Older Man #1 / Vince
* Michael D. McCarthy (McCarthy's real-life father) as Older Man #2 / Dennis
*
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
as herself
Production
''Life of the Party'' was announced in April 2016, with
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...
set to star and
Ben Falcone
Benjamin Scott Falcone (born August 25, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is married to actress Melissa McCarthy, with whom he co-starred in '' God’s Favorite Idiot''. He has also had cameos in '' ''Bridesmaids', ''Iden ...
to direct. In July 2016,
Gillian Jacobs
Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (; born October 19, 1982) is an American actress and director. She is known for her roles as Britta Perry on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015) and Mickey Dobbs on the Netflix romantic comedy series ''Love'' (2016 ...
was cast to play Helen, one of the sorority sisters of Deanna and
Molly Gordon
Molly June Gordon is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the drama TV series '' Animal Kingdom'' (2016–2018), as Nicky, and in the comedy films '' Life of the Party'' (2018) as Maddie, ''Booksmart'' (2019) as Triple A, and ...
was cast as Deanna's daughter, Maddie. On August 2,
Jacki Weaver
Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...
joined the project to play Deanna's mother, Sandy. On August 4,
Maya Rudolph
Maya Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''), and later played supporting roles in the films '' 50 First Dates'' ...
was cast as Christine, Deanna's neurotic best friend On August 12,
Debby Ryan
Deborah Ann Ryan (born May 13, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She started acting professionally onstage at the age of seven, and was later discovered during Disney Channel's nationwide search for new talent.
Ryan's work for Disney Ch ...
Joined the cast to play Jennifer, a “mean girl” head of a sorority. On August 25,
Matt Walsh was cast to play Dan, Deanna's husband. On August 29,
Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer (born March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received critical acclaim and six nominations for the Primetim ...
joined the cast to play Deanna's nemesis, Marcie.
Filming began in August 2016 in the metro Atlanta area. The sorority house used in the film is The Twelve Oaks Bed & Breakfast located in
Covington, GA. The interior of the mansion was replicated in a warehouse in Decatur, GA for the interior scenes and the exterior scenes were filmed on location at the inn.
Release
''Life of the Party'' was released on May 11, 2018.
The first official trailer for the film was released on February 5, 2018.
Reception
Box office
''Life of the Party'' grossed $53.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $65.9 million.
In the United States and Canada, ''Life of the Party'' was released alongside ''
Breaking In'', and was projected to gross $18–21 million from 3,656 theaters in its opening weekend.
It made $4.9 million on its first day, including $700,000 from Thursday night previews, down from the $985,000 McCarthy's ''
The Boss'' grossed in March 2016, and similar to the $650,000 grossed by ''
Snatched'' on the Thursday before the same weekend the previous year.
The film went on to debut to $17.9 million, and finished second behind ''
Avengers: Infinity War'' ($62 million in its third week); 80% of its audience was over the age of 25, while 70% was female.
It fell 57% in its second weekend, to $7.6 million, finishing fourth at the box office, and another 33% to $5.1 million in its third, finishing fifth.
Critical response
On review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "''Life of the Party''s good-natured humor and abundance of onscreen talent aren't enough to make up for jumbled direction and a script that misses far more often than it hits." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on reviews from 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, higher than the "C+" earned by McCarthy and Falcone's previous two film collaborations.
[
Critic Jeff Giles called it "a frustratingly middling comedy that never really figures out what to do with all that talent and fails to produce consistent laughs." Matt Zoller-Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film two out of four stars, calling it "the latest Melissa McCarthy star vehicle that fails to do justice to the sheer awesomeness of its leading lady." Leigh Monson from Birth.MoviesDeath wrote, "One hundred minutes of self-indulgence and tedium, even if it's well-meaning in its intentions."
]
Accolades
Lawsuit
In September 2020, Melissa McCarthy
Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...
, Ben Falcone
Benjamin Scott Falcone (born August 25, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is married to actress Melissa McCarthy, with whom he co-starred in '' God’s Favorite Idiot''. He has also had cameos in '' ''Bridesmaids', ''Iden ...
and the film's producers were sued for $10 million by Eva Kowalski, who claimed she pitched the concept for the film to the studio in 2014 and they breached an implied-in-fact contract
An implied-in-fact contract is a form of an implied contract formed by non-verbal conduct, rather than by explicit words. The United States Supreme Court has defined "an agreement 'implied in fact'" as "founded upon a meeting of minds, which, alth ...
by producing it without compensation.
References
External links
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{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
2018 films
2018 comedy films
American comedy films
2010s English-language films
Films directed by Ben Falcone
Films produced by Ben Falcone
Films produced by Melissa McCarthy
Films set in 2017
Films set in 2018
Films set in Atlanta
Films set in universities and colleges
Films about fraternities and sororities
Films shot in Atlanta
Films with screenplays by Ben Falcone
Films with screenplays by Melissa McCarthy
New Line Cinema films
Warner Bros. films
Golden Raspberry Award winning films
Films about mother–daughter relationships
American female buddy films
2010s American films