February 14

Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar (15)

Posted by ruthmedia on February 14, 2021 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Director: Josh Greenbaum

Runtime: 106 minutes

Cast: Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, Jamie Dornan, Damon Wayans Jr., Michael Hitchcock, Kwame Patterson, Reyn Doi, Wendy McLendon-Covey

Synopsis: Lifelong friends Barb and Star embark on the adventure of a lifetime when they decide to leave their small Midwestern town for the first time…ever. Romance, friendship and a villain’s evil plot… Hold on to your culottes!

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFb-GRca97M

Directed by Josh Greenbaum [Becoming Bond (2017), The Short Game (2013) and Too Funny to Fail: The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show (2017)], Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo team up again after a decade, for this film – their second jointly co-written, following the comedy classic Bridesmaids.

Once again they display their considerable comedic talents on screen and as writers in this bright, colourful and rather silly film.

Lifelong friends Barb (Annie Mumolo) and Star (Kristen Wiig) embark on the adventure of a lifetime when they decide to leave their small Midwestern town for the first time ever, for the exotic resort of Vista Del Mar in Florida.

Barb and Star have been friends for years, living in a sleepy Midwestern town where little ever happens. Their lives are rather dull – they are out of favour with the local discussion group and recently redundant from their jobs. This is why they decide to go for broke on their first holiday together, choosing the wild, colourful world of Florida’s Vista Del Mar. No sooner have they arrived, than they find themselves plunged into a mad villain’s plot to kill everyone in town.

Soon they find themselves embroiled in colour, romance, intimidating cocktails and the most cataclysmic of situations.

Jamie Dornan stars as Edgar, an apparent fellow holidaymaker who starts to hang out with the friends. But forget Fifty Shades of Grey, Jamie shows that he can be more than fifty shades of funny and he sings as well.

A crowd-pleasing adventure of love and friendship, Barb and Star has a great ensemble cast, witty script and, best of all, it highlights the almost invisible or under-represented in films – middle aged women, who feel very real here.

Writers Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig find the perfect balance between laughing at and with their characters, their idiocy matched by their resilience in every new situation. There are plenty of knowing cinematic in-jokes and post-credits fun in this freewheeling, feelgood comedy with a farcical spirit.

Available on streaming platforms

Images courtesy of LIONSGATE