Veep star and Ghostbusters‘ Homeland Security guy Matt Walsh has joined up with his erstwhile co-star Melissa McCarthy yet again, this time in McCarthy’s very own Life of the Party. According to Variety, Walsh will play McCarthy’s husband Dan in the comedy scripted by McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone.
Very little has been released about Life of the Party so far. It was initially described as being similar to Rodney Dangerfield’s Back to School, so that gives us some idea of what we’re in for. Dare we hope for a return-to-college comedy with McCarthy taking on a similar role to the profane Dangerfield? Yes, I think we dare.
The only other details known are the names of McCarthy and Walsh’s characters – Deanna and Dan – and the fact that Dan is “always wearing golf pants.” I’m afraid that’s not much of a plot. But with this cast, which also includes Maya Rudolph, and with a script by McCarthy and Falcone, I admit to being intrigued.
McCarthy has been admittedly hit or miss in the past. Her recent comedy The Boss failed to make any kind of waves, but her role in Ghostbusters achieved some pretty good critical reaction. Her TV show Mike and Molly ran for six years and garnered positive support, while some of her other films (like Tammy) resulted in mixed audience and critical responses. She seems to be one of those comedians you either love or hate – and I profess to loving her, so I’m perfectly happy to be optimistic about Life of the Party. It certainly can’t be worse than Back to School, now can it?
We will keep you updated about any future casting decisions for Life of the Party as they become available. The film is currently in pre-production, with a release planned sometime in 2018.
