Life of the Party

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2:23

Life of the Party

PG-13

2018

1h 45m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

38%

Tomatometer

153 Reviews

40%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

When her husband suddenly dumps her, longtime and dedicated housewife Deanna turns regret into reset by going back to college. Unfortunately, Deanna winds up at the same school as her less-than-thrilled daughter. Plunging headlong into the campus experience, the outspoken new student soon begins a journey of self-discovery while fully embracing all of the fun, freedom and frat boys that she can handle.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

The modern academic landscape of safe spaces and microaggression measurement might have given the old premise a good jolt, but Falcone and McCarthy take the easier route of throwing her character into the epic partying of the Greek system.

Mar 16, 2020

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

McCarthy doesn't try to conceal her purpose: she has won her power the hard way and she wants to use it for the greater good. That's part of what makes her the cultural icon she has become, the champion of downtrodden woman of all shapes and sizes.

Rated: 3/5

May 15, 2018

Full Review

Roxana Hadadi

Chesapeake Family Magazine

Melissa McCarthy stars in Life of the Party, which uneasily tries to mix messages about female empowerment and body positivity with cliched jokes about aging.

Rated: 2.5/5

May 14, 2018

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Kip Mooney

College Movie Review

The comedy consistently works, with McCarthy showing off her versatility as a performer.

Rated: B+

Aug 21, 2021

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Fletcher Powell

KMUW - Wichita Public Radio

While Life of the Party isn't, you know, what you would call "funny," for the most part it really means well.

Jul 16, 2021

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Alix Turner

Ready Steady Cut

Nothing new or outstanding in Life of the Party, apart from how tame and unfunny it was. I wish I hadn't bothered.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jan 31, 2021

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Karisha M

I usually truly appreciate that type of movies -- silly and unserious movies. I really liked the fact Deanna reached her goal despite being dumped, the end was wholesome. I just found that the movie was not as funny and catchy as other similar ones.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/28/25

Full Review

Luigi B

I tried watching Life of the Party on Netflix because I wanted a light background movie, but honestly it was too background — I kept zoning out. Melissa McCarthy did her best, but the story was too flat, and even talented actresses like Maya Rudolph (who played her best friend) felt wasted. Maya was hilarious in The Good Place, but here the script didn’t give her much to work with — it was just too boring and “meh.” Also, before going back to college, Melissa’s character should have been styled to look more like a typical mum — older and more relatable. Instead, they tried to make her look younger later, and it didn’t really work. It just made the transformation feel less believable.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/29/25

Full Review

Uynga U

Really admiring movie. Probably watch it again😄

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/17/24

Full Review

erdene c

It's good to go back and live again in my youth

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/17/24

Full Review

Bahad j

In my opinion, I felt that the movie was very good, behind all this, the filmmaker was able to come up with the right festive details to congratulate the members of the behind-the-scenes team.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/16/24

Full Review

Bill T

Love Malissa McCarthy

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/26/24

Full Review

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Ben Falcone

Director

Melissa McCarthy

Deanna

Gillian Jacobs

Helen

Maya Rudolph

Christine

Julie Bowen

Marcie

Matt Walsh

Dan

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Life of the Party: Trailer 2

2:23

Life of the Party: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

When her husband suddenly dumps her, longtime and dedicated housewife Deanna turns regret into reset by going back to college. Unfortunately, Deanna winds up at the same school as her less-than-thrilled daughter. Plunging headlong into the campus experience, the outspoken new student soon begins a journey of self-discovery while fully embracing all of the fun, freedom and frat boys that she can handle.

Director: Ben Falcone
Producer: Ben Falcone, Melissa McCarthy
Screenwriter: Ben Falcone, Melissa McCarthy
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Bros., On the Day
Rating: PG-13 (Partying|Drug Content|Sexual Material)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 11, 2018, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 18, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $52.8M
Runtime: 1h 45m

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