Movie Review - Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar (** out of 5) (PG-13) As any SNL fan knows from the range of her sketches, when Kristen Wiig is on her game, she will be hilarious; other characters of hers can be pointlessly or excessively annoying. In this outing, she and co-star Annie Mumolo play the eponymous gal pals who seem destined to splurge on a big vacation. They lost their jobs and were ousted from their suburban social circle (a nicely satiric group of tea-sipping Karens’ Talk Club) on the same day another friend gushes over her recent vacation to the titular Florida destination. And they’re off.

Unfortunately, their trip coincides with an over-the-top supervillain’s elaborate revenge plot against that resort town. She is like a distaff Dr. Evil, with a pasty complexion that makes Tilda Swinton look like a sun-baked beach bunny. That’s not pale-shaming; it’s key to the plot. Such as it is.

Do you recall Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion from 1997? Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino were a delight as ditzy innocents with a lifelong bond that synced their minds on a wavelength few others could understand. This one plays as if those characters have aged 15 years, during which they'd misplaced all their charm. Barb and Star work and live together, chatting incessantly over mostly meaningless minutia that has kept them on their own island of reality. These characters grow tiresome long before they grow in their story arcs. The result is a tedious experience, relieved somewhat by a smattering of truly funny moments. Among those are a few clever songs (one going almost full Bollywood) and surprising, mostly uncredited, cameos from stars who likely assumed the final script would turn out much better than the working version they were sent.

Barb and Star is mediocre fluff. Even so, for those who watch, here’s a bonus exercise tip. During one character’s semi-romantic song on the beach, watch the shadows on the sand to see how many different times of day were involved in the filming of one sequence. It’s something for the unengaged to do.

(On demand as of 2/12/21)