I grew up on a series of silly SNL spin-off movies in the '90s and although Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar isn't one of those, it feels like one -- and in a good way.
It's a testament to how committed Kristen Wiig and her writing partner Annie Mumolo are to playing two unhappily single clueless Midwesterners ("pathetic Stellas trying to get their groove back") who have lost their jobs at a department store and have decided to go on there version on adventure which means vacationing at a candy-colored Florida getaway.
It's got ludicrous, knowingly low budget effects, musical numbers and a completely unnecessary subplot involving a terrorist plot masterminded by a goofy villain (also portrayed by Wiig in white pancake make-up in an inexplicably designed lair and with a child henchman whose origins are also never explained). It's probably not for everyone's tastes, but it consistently made me laugh and it made me long for my own vacation getaway.
The film is a bright, sunny bauble, with no real stakes and simple charms. Barb and Star are one note characters, but I love the note. and so I got a kick out of their kooky personal journey. After such a disappointing turn in Wonder Woman 1984, it's a treat to see Wiig get this wacky again. And Mumolo is her hilarious match.
Meanwhile. Jamie Dornan of 50 Shades of Grey pops up effectively sending up his stoic persona and there's a surreally funny bit with a crab that sounds like it's being voiced by Morgan Freeman, but it's Morgan Freemond... with a D.
Sure, it mostly plays like an extended sketch and it's about absolutely nothing. But I like it's cartoonish tone and look and it has enough of a strange streak that it avoids being too sentimental, which is the death knell of comedies like these.
Its lack of realism may be a turnoff for people who were fans of 2011's Bridesmaids, the Oscar-nominated, blockbuster penned by Wiig and Mumolo. For all that movie's broad humor, its characters felt very relatable and real and the story was grounded in deep emotions amid its big comic set pieces.
Barb and Star on the hand gets a bit bogged down withs international intrigue plot that feels lifted from a dozen other 'dummies accidentally get involved in criminal enterprise' comedies. It's probably a bit overlong -- it's best bits mostly come in the film's first half, like a hostile 'talking party' hosted by a scene stealing Vanessa Bayer, and it's certainly not about anything.
But who cares? Sometimes you need a big, dumb comedy and this one scratched an itch for me. And it looks incredible and while Mumolo and Wiig's characters may be a bit annoying, they're pretty damn funny too. Just like the movie.
I think it's worth the trip, if for no other reason it will make you excited for a time where we can be outside and carefree and social again. And to just laugh again, too.
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