That’s what Melissa McCarthy told me at the Critics Choice Awards in January when referring to the string of over-the-top, R-rated comedies she’s been starring in. The 45-year-old actress, who got her big break on TV’s “Gilmore Girls” and then won an Emmy for the CBS sitcom “Mike & Molly” (which ends next month), officially became a bonafide movie star with 2011’s “Bridesmaids”, which kick started her rise to superstardom.
Since then she’s wracked-up an Oscar nomination (for that blockbuster comedy), lead roles opposite fellow A-listers, and a reputation as one of the nicest people in Hollywood. “Bridesmaids” was the first of FOUR movies in which she’s teamed with director Paul Feig, including 2013’s “The Heat” (with Sandra Bullock) and last year’s “Spy”, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
McCarthy and Feig are back at it again for the female “Ghostbusters” reboot, which opens in July. The trailer has gotten mixed reaction online, but McCarthy is highly optimistic about the film, which reportedly features cameos from several of the original cast members, including Bill Murray. McCarthy co-starred with Murray in 2014’s “St. Vincent”, as the mom of a young boy Murray’s quirky title character befriends.
Add roles in “This is 40” (2012), “Identity Thief” (2013), “The Hangover: Part III” (2013), and as “Tammy” in the 2014 road trip comedy, and you get a five-year domestic box office total just shy of $900 million.
Now comes “The Boss”, McCarthy’s second starring role with husband/actor Ben Falcone behind the camera as director (“Tammy” was the first). She plays a business tycoon (the wealthiest woman in America) who goes to prison for insider trading. Desperate to make a comeback when released, she seeks the help of a friend (Kristen Bell) and her daughter’s Brownie troop.
With the exception of “St. Vincent” (and “Ghostbusters” has not yet been rated), every single one of these McCarthy movies has been rated R. I’ve had the chance to chat with McCarthy at the past three Critics Choice Awards (she’s been nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy all three years), and she’s honestly as sweet as can be. So how could someone so nice be so successful as “The Raunchy Movie Comedy Queen”?
McCarthy recently told TODAY Show host Matt Lauer, “I have two little girls. We don’t say ‘shut up.’ We can’t say anything at home, and I don’t speak like that at all. I think it’s part of the fun of acting. You get to play these characters that kick-in doors, say insane things, swear like a sailor – it’s the opposite of me. To play myself, I’d be totally bored. But to get to play somebody who has no barriers – no sensors – that’s the fun of it.”
And it’s fun for us as well. Don’t expect anyone to be kicking McCarthy out of this genre anytime soon.