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A suit-wearing briefcase-carrying baby pairs up with his seven-year-old brother to stop the dastardly plot of the CEO of Puppy Co.
I used to like Alec Baldwin back in the day, when he appeared in “Working Girl” as Melanie Griffith’s sleazy boyfriend, and especially when he played Jack Ryan in “The Hunt for Red October,” back when he had class, charisma. But over time, he became known as a prima donna who would throw temper tantrums when things didn’t go his way. Suffice to say, because of his unprofessionalism, I began to lose interest in him as an actor but every now and again, he’d give a performance that was worth watching, in such movies as “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Still Alice,” and the ridiculously enjoyable, “The Getaway.” With “The Boss Baby,” we don’t have to stare at his face, instead, we only have to listen to him. And to give credit where credit is due, he actually steals the show. At times, it was weird watching a baby do what babies are supposed to do, only to then hear Baldwin’s voice take over. A little jarring in the beginning but after a while, it became consistent with everything else.
As the film begins, we are introduced to seven-year-old Tim Templeton (Miles Christopher Bakshi) and his loving but overly protective parents, Ted and Janice (voiced by Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow). They lavish him with so much love and affection that they all become inseparable. They play outside with him, watch TV together, and at night they sing bedtime songs to him. Life couldn’t be better. That is of course until one day, they bring home a new baby brother, one who plays the part of an infant as far the parents are concerned but who can actually talk and who insists on being called “The Boss.” Think Stewie Griffin from “Family Guy” minus the English accent. Tim quickly discovers that the Boss is actually on a secret mission, one that involves the business his parents work for, a company called Puppy Co., and to try and figure out why puppies are receiving more love and attention than babies. If Boss can unearth this mystery, he is promised a corner office and assistant at the company he works for, Baby Corp.
Initially, the two siblings despise each other, with Tim trying to prove to his parents that Boss can actually speak but his plans are thwarted at every turn. Eventually, after Boss tells him that if he can discover the reason why puppies from Puppy Co. are becoming more popular than babies, he will be promoted, and that means he will leave the house so Tim and his parents can go back to the way things were before he arrived. Tim immediately agrees and the duo heads out to Las Vegas to a big convention that Puppy Co. is holding, where the CEO of the company, Francis E. Francis (Steve Buscemi), is going to reveal to the world, a puppy that never grows old and that can never die. When Francis realizes that Boss and Tim are trying to prevent his dastardly plans, he kidnaps Ted and Janice and Boss and Tim must put their differences aside in order to save their parents, and prevent Francis’ plan from ever seeing the light of day.
Disney·Pixar is renowned for their immaculate animated movies which focus more on individual characters and intimate storylines but Dreamworks Animation, while completely different in overall aesthetics, typically choosing to concentrate on bigger and more large scale stories, actually hits the bullseye with “The Boss Baby,” delivering an always entertaining and heartfelt film, while keeping most of the spotlight on Tim and his younger brother, instead of the rousing action they encounter throughout. The story is nothing new but how Tim and Boss, complete opposites from the beginning, gradually begin to understand and respect each other as the story progresses, is worth the price of admission alone. “The Boss Baby” is, by far, Dreamworks Animation’s most ambitious feature to date, encompassing love, hate, sibling rivalry, camaraderie, and some genuinely funny laugh-out-loud moments. While I am not a fan of Alec Baldwin’s in general, he most certainly won me over with his arrogant and bombastic but ultimately empathetic performance. Kudos Dreamworks, kudos.
In theaters Friday, March 31st
