Boss Baby review: The premise is cute, but that's about it

Babies vs puppies

Tim thinks the new addition to his family, who arrives in a taxi, known as Boss Baby (voiced by Alec Baldwin) is a briefcase carrying CEO intent on destroying their perfect family. Boss Baby comes into the family as a seemingly innocent newborn. The parents – voiced over by Lisa Kudrow and Jimmy Kimmel - love him. The elder brother Tim though is suspicious.

Tim is convinced that Boss is wearing the pants in the family. Boss has come with a mission. He was ‘chosen’ as management upon birth.

Quickly enough Tim learns that Boss is middle management from a company called Baby Corp sent to spy on Tim’s parents who work for Puppy Co. Now, Puppy Co. manufactures pets. They’re about to unveil their latest creation and Baby Corp sees it as one that threatens to tilt the scale of ‘love’ from babies to puppies.

Headache inducing

The movie turns away from disruption and capitalism to one resembling a buddy picture. With a thin plot and unfunny gags (barring one with a talcum powder fart joke), it’s a 97-minute lengthy tale that could have been wound up in a 20-minute short.

Boss Baby tries to fill in the dull periods with twists, more gags and even a subplot that doesn’t add up. The plot doesn’t signify much, the emotions run out quickly and sitting through it in 3D makes one's head hurt.

If it weren’t for the stellar cast narrating the movie, it’d be a no-brainer to give this one a miss. With Baldwin, Kimmel, Kudrow and Tobey Maguire, the movie makes for an acceptable one-time watch at home when you’re fed up of the lack of options on TV.

Rating: 1.5/5