Entertainment Weekly - May 11, 2018

Then Marlo’s rich-jerk brother (Mark

Duplass) passes along the phone number of

a recommended night nanny and, as a gift to

her for when she gives birth, insists on pay-

ing for the service—a move that, to Marlo,

reeks of condescension. She also interprets

it as a dig at her ability to juggle it all. But

after too many sleepless nights filled with

spilled breast milk and toes stabbed by

LEGO blocks, she gives in. And after dinner

one night, salvation arrives in the form of

Tully (Halt and Catch Fire’s Mackenzie

Davis), a smiling, funky, New Agey twenty-

something panacea in a belly shirt. Marlo

gets her first decent night’s sleep in years

and wakes up to a spotless house.

As Marlo, Theron reaches deep and sells

every scene with desperation, exhaustion,

and, yes, humor. In our society, there’s

something almost transgressive in admit-

ting that motherhood doesn’t always feel

like a “blessing”; being honest about how

hard and occasionally unrewarding it is

is the ultimate taboo. Maybe that’s why

Theron’s performance feels as charged as a

downed power line. Meanwhile, Cody, who

until now has been more comfortable traf-

ficking in hipster quips and prickly archness,

has written a story with real characters that

doesn’t feel like a pose or placed in air

quotes. Cody has matured and become less

superficial without giving up any of her gift

for finding humor in the absurd. She’s also

become bolder. Without revealing too much

about the finale of the film,Tully takes some

seriously unexpected detours. It may not

end up being the quirky slice of misanthropy

the trailers are hawking. But that’s okay,

becauseTully’s better than that movie. B+

DID YOU LOVETULLY?You might also like Martin

Scorsese’sAlice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974).

Judd’s LawAshley Judd has

filed suit against Harvey

Weinstein in Los Angeles for

damaging her career.

Doll PartsTheConjuring

universe will expand for a third

Annabelle movie on July 3, 2019.

REEL

NEWS

professional, really

fun, and really powerful

young women, espe-

cially having two

daughters.

What is your advice

on staying true to

yourself as you go

through the business?

MCCARTHYYou have to

listen to yourself and

stay in integrity. Watch

whose career and life

you want to emulate.

And realize you some-

timeshavetosayno.

MOLLY GORDONI’m so

new to all this, and it

was the most incredible

experience because of

these two women, and

they’re who I want to be.

Melissa and Ben are

incredible leaders—they

made me comfortable

and loved.

How did you guys bond

on and of of the set?

GILLIAN JACOBSQuickly.

Weirdly! Melissa’s a great

hostess—she had all

of us to her house right

awaywhenwegotdown

to Atlanta. We had a pool

party. They just picked

such nice people for us

all to work with. It was

so easy to bond.

MELISSA MCCARTHYIt

doesn’t always happen,

but everyone clicked

immediately. Then it’s

just silly that it’s a job.

But don’t tell anyone.

We should have said

it’s hard and grueling!

What part of the shoot

felt most like a party?

MCCARTHYThere’s an

’80s-themed party

scene. There was hair for

days. Everybody was so

bedazzled. It was one

where I felt very mom-

ish—at the last minute,

I ordered everyone’s

dresses for the scene,

and they came and

everyone wanted a dif-

ferent outfit. It just

worked out. [To Jacobs]

You were the most glam-

orous country & western

singer I’ve ever seen.

Since the film is about

going back to school

and learning new

things, what’s some-

thing you learned

from the shoot?

MCCARTHYBeing

around that many young

women, it gave me great

hope. You always get

[a bad] rap when some-

one says something like

“That’s an awfully young

cast,” and you think it’ll

be exhausting. It gave

me hope for the future.

I felt really lucky to be

around all these really

A Family Portrait

ofParty Girls

InLife of the Party (out May 11), housewife Deanna (Melissa McCarthy)

heads back to school—at the same time as her daughter, Maddie

(Molly Gordon)—to finish her degree, an experience that’s full of fun,

romance, and sorority sisters like Helen (Gillian Jacobs). Directed by Ben

Falcone, McCarthy’s husband, it was a lively family afair.BY MIA MCNIECE

Life of

the Party‘s

Debby

Ryan,

Gillian

Jacobs,

Melissa

McCarthy,

Jessie

Ennis, and

Molly

Gordon

CREDIT GOES HERE CREDIT GOES HERE CREDIT GOES HERE

PHOTOGRAPH BYCLIFF WATTS