No idea why on earth this movie has an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Is it because the academy loves Kirsten Wiig? I mean, I do too. I love her in Bridesmaids. She's hysterical on SNL. But this movie was a pastel-coloured mess. Sometimes reviewers baffle me. I miss Siskel and Ebert. Pretty sure those two would give this two thumbs down.
It doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it for kids? Is it for adults? As Rolling Stone pointed out, the movie offers us two middle-aged women who act and talk like children. Honestly, from the goofy "friendship" platitudes to the ridiculous lies they tell each other about "turtles", the act and talk like they're in kindergarten.
They lie to each other constantly. I mean CONSTANTLY. At one point in the movie (as with so many Hollywood movies) they admit their lies to each other and then it turns out they lied even more. I can't tell too much without spoiling the film, so I won't elaborate, but keep your eye open. You'll see what I mean.
I admit I did enjoy the movie for the first while. After binging Kirsten's glory days on SNL last week, I was a bit disappointed that it was much less funny. It had some nice, quirky moments and interesting cinematography, like when they trip out after drinking a special drink from a giant glass that is made to look like a fish bowl, complete with a treasure chest with a special liquid and special pills to take. There were some quite clever scenes and some real absurdist humour. A talking crab, silly "culottes" (giant pants) that turn out to act as parachutes. I appreciated the absurd elements, but there are so many generic Hollywood moments, that by the end, I was cringing hard. Y'know, all of these mindless speeches about the meaning of friendship (even though these two characters spent 90% of their screen time lying to each other), characters announcing they love each other after knowing each other for two days and characters doing complete personality reversals out of the blue and unmotivated. The list goes on and on.
I find that Hollywood often coughs up these films where people feel totally comfortable blatantly lying to each other (and often with no real reason) and yet we're supposed to feel empathy for these characters and like them. They lie not because it's true to their character (I don't think two lifelong friends who lie so consistently and blatantly with the friendship staying intact) but because it somehow makes the story more "interesting" or "fun".
It's a very immature movie. I enjoyed it to a point but I found it just insulted my intelligence for the last half hour. It just becomes totally predictable and you'll find yourself saying "oh of course, this is when the bad guy does this and this..." and "Oh yes, this is when the main characters patch things up and admit they're 'great friends'". Just for once it'd be nice to see a film where people don't obviously act like Hollywood cliches.. Wiig is funny. She has funny moments in the movie, but she can't save it.
Professional "reviewers" liked this movie... DO NOT go by what they said. They're probably all good friends with Wiig (because she's very affable) and didn't want to make her upset. Who knows? But this rating (6.3) fits much better. I might make it 3 or 4 but only because of the set design, cinematography and a handful of funny and absurd moments. If the cringe factor wasn't so high (especially in the last 30 minutes) I'd probably give it 6 or 6.5... but I can't. I just... can't... nor can I unsee that film.
If you wanna see Wiig be absolutely hysterical, I suggest watching her play the "a-hole" in SNL, or Kathy Lee Gifford, or Liza Minelli. She's definitely my favourite actress/ comedian to come out of SNL but this movie is beneath her. She deserves material that is smarter, funnier and better than this.
It doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it for kids? Is it for adults? As Rolling Stone pointed out, the movie offers us two middle-aged women who act and talk like children. Honestly, from the goofy "friendship" platitudes to the ridiculous lies they tell each other about "turtles", the act and talk like they're in kindergarten.
They lie to each other constantly. I mean CONSTANTLY. At one point in the movie (as with so many Hollywood movies) they admit their lies to each other and then it turns out they lied even more. I can't tell too much without spoiling the film, so I won't elaborate, but keep your eye open. You'll see what I mean.
I admit I did enjoy the movie for the first while. After binging Kirsten's glory days on SNL last week, I was a bit disappointed that it was much less funny. It had some nice, quirky moments and interesting cinematography, like when they trip out after drinking a special drink from a giant glass that is made to look like a fish bowl, complete with a treasure chest with a special liquid and special pills to take. There were some quite clever scenes and some real absurdist humour. A talking crab, silly "culottes" (giant pants) that turn out to act as parachutes. I appreciated the absurd elements, but there are so many generic Hollywood moments, that by the end, I was cringing hard. Y'know, all of these mindless speeches about the meaning of friendship (even though these two characters spent 90% of their screen time lying to each other), characters announcing they love each other after knowing each other for two days and characters doing complete personality reversals out of the blue and unmotivated. The list goes on and on.
I find that Hollywood often coughs up these films where people feel totally comfortable blatantly lying to each other (and often with no real reason) and yet we're supposed to feel empathy for these characters and like them. They lie not because it's true to their character (I don't think two lifelong friends who lie so consistently and blatantly with the friendship staying intact) but because it somehow makes the story more "interesting" or "fun".
It's a very immature movie. I enjoyed it to a point but I found it just insulted my intelligence for the last half hour. It just becomes totally predictable and you'll find yourself saying "oh of course, this is when the bad guy does this and this..." and "Oh yes, this is when the main characters patch things up and admit they're 'great friends'". Just for once it'd be nice to see a film where people don't obviously act like Hollywood cliches.. Wiig is funny. She has funny moments in the movie, but she can't save it.
Professional "reviewers" liked this movie... DO NOT go by what they said. They're probably all good friends with Wiig (because she's very affable) and didn't want to make her upset. Who knows? But this rating (6.3) fits much better. I might make it 3 or 4 but only because of the set design, cinematography and a handful of funny and absurd moments. If the cringe factor wasn't so high (especially in the last 30 minutes) I'd probably give it 6 or 6.5... but I can't. I just... can't... nor can I unsee that film.
If you wanna see Wiig be absolutely hysterical, I suggest watching her play the "a-hole" in SNL, or Kathy Lee Gifford, or Liza Minelli. She's definitely my favourite actress/ comedian to come out of SNL but this movie is beneath her. She deserves material that is smarter, funnier and better than this.
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