Life of the Party is not an ironic title: Deanna literally ends up as the authentically celebrated life of the party at Decatur U. And yes, absolutely, ...

The life story, then, is not the most promising of forms for an intellectual–not only because it is allergic to ideas but because intellectuals are not renowned for their enthralling lives.

The Life of the Party shines in the moments when it doesn’t just tell Deanna she can be more than the narrow roles of wife and mother she has been forced into, but also that those roles have value.

But Life of the Party, like The Boss and Tammy, was directed by Ben Falcone, McCarthy’s husband, and co-written by him and McCarthy.

The Life of ‘The Party Decides’ 4 political-science professors contemplate the improbable rise and fall of an obscure academic text in the time of Trump. By Steve Kolowich May 16, 2016.

But “Life of the Party,” and Falcone’s barely-there, beat-erratic direction, already makes it seem as if we’re in a greatest-hits stage of McCarthy’s career, ...

Film Review: ‘Life of the Party’ Belly up to the frat bar. Melissa McCarthy's fun wish-fulfillment comedy about a back-to-school divorcée is as sweet as a lemon drop shot.