Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar
It’s only February, but the bar for the year’s best comedy has been set.
Nearly a decade after their Oscar-nominated Bridesmaids ushered in an era of raunchy female-driven films, the screenwriting duo of Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig further hone their zany humor with Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, an uproarious romp that also establishes the Groundlings alums as a formidable onscreen pair.
Under the competent direction of Josh Greenbaum (Too Funny to Fail: The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show), the film’s goofy, winning tone is established from the get-go via a pre-titles definition of culottes — not a typo — followed by Asian-American paperboy Yoyo (Reyn Doi) peddling through suburbia, cracking amusing faces at various encounters along his route.
The yuks continue as the tween descends to the secret lair of Powder-like supervillain Sharon Gordon Fisherman (a barely recognizable Wiig, giving off major Dr. Evil vibes), who reveals her evil plan to enact revenge upon the residents of the titular Florida town for ridiculing her as a youth — with whipped would-be lover Edgar Pagét (Jamie Dornan, continuing his surprise comedic hot streak after Wild Mountain Thyme) serving as her field agent.
Meanwhile, in generic middle-America, 40something divorcée best friends and literal roommates Barb (Mumolo) and Star (Wiig) lose their furniture store jobs and, in an effort to flee their town’s hilarious peer pressure via a vacation, are likewise pulled to that fateful beach.
Once in the Sunshine State, the pals’ rapport truly blossoms as the filmmakers take full advantage of the situation’s fish-out-of-water potential. The inspired mining of Midwestern naiveté suggests these are characters that Mumolo and Wiig have been honing for years, saving the best jokes and gags for this special occasion.
When they inevitably cross paths with Edgar, who inadvertently charms both sex-starved women, the friends’ co-dependency is put to the test as each devises not-so-elaborate schemes to be with this hunk, whose gradual acceptance that Sharon may not be his dream partner yields its own share of chuckles.
The ensuing moments of personal growth (and conversations with talking crustaceans) encourage steady laughs, and though momentum somewhat peters out over the course of a shaggy climax that doesn’t quite stick the landing, the preceding good times — and ones yet to come over the closing credits — are more than enough to warrant a hearty recommendation.
Grade: B-plus. Rated PG-13. Available to rent via Amazon Video, iTunes, and other streaming services
(Photo: Lionsgate)
