Life of the Party

Melissa McCarthy doesn’t earn much respect for Life of the Party, which is basically a gender-reversed, less funny rip-off of the 1980s Rodney Dangerfield comedy Back to School.

The setup is different, but the basic premise is the same, involving an adult who enrolls in college and turns into the big man — or woman, in this case — on campus.

McCarthy plays Deanna, a relentlessly cheerful mother whose husband (Matt Walsh) announces he wants a divorce right after dropping their daughter, Maddie (Molly Gordon), off at college. An overwhelmed Deanna decides to funnel her anger into finishing the final semester of that archaeology degree she abandoned years ago.

So she enrolls at the same college, of course, even joining Maddie’s sorority at the request of her friends who find her sweet and adorable. Despite some social missteps and fashion faux pas, Deanna dives right into the college experience. Before long, she’s boozing it up at a frat party, playing goalie for an intramural soccer team, flirting with jocks in the library, and cramming all night before midterms.

As graduation approaches, she not only takes her mind off the nasty divorce proceedings, but also becomes closer to Maddie.

The film marks the third cinematic collaboration for the real-life husband-and-wife team of McCarthy and director Ben Falcone (The Boss). Their screenplay can’t decide whether it’s a crude and edgy revenge saga about a woman scorned, or a gentle and heartwarming examination of starting over. Succeeding at neither, it winds up caught in the middle, despite some scattered big laughs.

McCarthy conveys a certain charm, reminding viewers of her talent that’s been put to better use elsewhere, even if Deanna’s awkwardness becomes less endearing as it goes along. There’s a female-empowerment angle to the premise, yet the film comes up short in terms of emotional resonance because it consistently feels so detached from reality.

Although most of the gags are labored, many of the best lines belong to the quirky periphery characters, such as Deanna’s enthusiastically supportive best friend (Maya Rudolph).

For the most part, Life of the Party is predictable and uninspired. The film winds up resembling its protagonist — sort of sweet and well-intentioned, but ultimately oblivious and dorky.

Rated PG-13, 104 minutes.