No one should have to see You Again

September 24th, 2010

Film: You Again
Director: Andy Fickman
Starring: Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Betty White, Odette Yustman

I have no problem with horrendous romantic comedies, per se. I believe there is a time and a place when a good cheesefest on the screen is a welcome distraction. There are days when predictable fluff is just what the Movie Doctor ordered. (Side note: Imagine if that was a real job? I’d finally make my parents proud and be able to wear one of those ‘Trust me, I’m a doctor’ t-shirts at parties!) That being said, You Again peeves me right off.

I could barely enjoy my delicious dinner of fine dining at the theatre, consisting of giant pretzel, Swedish Berries and a cup of coke that I later donated to my neighbor to use as a bathtub for their full-grown Rottweiler, because of what was unfolding before me on the big screen. You Again’s lack of humour, originality, and really any script to speak of, hurt my poor tum tum (I’m sure it wasn’t my dinner). It appears that the producers put together a stellar line-up of actors, including Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Kristin Chenoweth and Betty White, and assumed the script was therefore irrelevant. It ain’t.

Bell plays Marni, an ugly duckling in high school that later turned into a beautiful swan and successful PR rep in LA (the go-to job of all rom-coms). When Marni returns home for her older brother’s wedding she finds that her sister-in-law to be is also the same popular mean girl that made her teenage years a living hell. Marni tries to uncover the ‘nice’ act put on by Joanna, played by Odette Yustman, before she marries Marni’s brother. To make matters worse, Joanna’s Aunt Mona (Weaver) is the former high school frenemy of Marni’s mother, Gail (Curtis). The two women continue to compete with one another. Hilarity ensues. Not.

Movies like You Again show just how integral a smart and witty script is when making a film. You can put the best players in the NHL on the ice together, but if no one has a stick or a puck, it’s going to be a boring and forgettable game. Bell, Curtis and Weaver may be MVP’s, but the coach forgot their equipment.

Rating: 1 ugly duckling out of 5 (Would have received a rating of 1.5, but the final scene ended with the song ‘We Are Family’ playing. If I had watched the movie starting at the end and working backwards I could have saved myself an hour and a half and walked out then.)

Tags: betty white, Kristen Bell, Movie Review, Movies, You Again