Joey Magidson
A stoner comedy is harder to get right than one might think. Making jokes that are almost inherently only meant to be funny to those inebriated onscreen work for an audience is tough. When it’s done well, they almost always become cult classics. Unfortunately, The Wrong Girls is unlikely to wind up in that manner, even though the film has some elements that really do work. Sadly, it’s a movie that winds up not being as fun or as funny as it clearly is setting out to be.
The Wrong Girls is funny, but should be funnier. It has clever moments, yet ends up not making the most of it. The flick is far from bad and has some really strong chemistry between our leading ladies, but everything else ends up working better on paper than in practice. On paper, this should absolutely rule. In practice? Fits and starts.
Best friends and roommates Frankie (Kristen Stewart) and Molly (Alia Shawkat) are plenty smart and certainly creative, but they’re also aimless stoners who would rather get high than do any work. That’s an issue when the rent is overdue, leading to a sudden sense of urgency. When a case of mistaken identity leads Not Metal Head Dave (LaKeith Stanfield) to put a case of experimental drugs into her possession, they initially think their problems are solved. Sell the drugs and boom, money. However, first they try out the drug, which has unintended consequences.
When they start being able to understand what their cats are saying (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani and Seth Rogen), they know something is up. Plus, a trio of European toughs are after them, having learned that the drugs are out in the world. Stumbling in and out of danger, until Not Metal Head Dave brings them to Dr. Olsen (Kate McKinnon), the inventor of the drug, who explains that they now have telepathic abilities. Useful? Sure. Unsettling? Of course. Then again, they’re still spacey stoners, so it all gets pretty zany.
Alia Shawkat and Kristen Stewart are the highlights here, with Stewart really having a blast playing a stoner. She’s able to mix the smart and the stupid in a way that almost overcomes the narrative missteps. Whether it’s mourning a buffet closing, quitting when things get hard, or verbally jousting with everyone, it’s a high quality comedic performance. Shawkat is very good as well, though she’s played this type of character, at least in broad strokes, before. They have fantastic chemistry together and their riffing is super fun. Kumail Nanjiani and Seth Rogen are fun choices for the cats’ voices, though Kate McKinnon is too broad and LaKeith Stanfield is mostly wasted. Supporting players here include Taj Cross, Geena Davis, Zack Fox, Tony Hale, and more.
Filmmaker Dylan Meyer has dubbed this her passion project, and you can see why, though the elements just don’t all come together. The weirder Meyer lets things get, the better. Everything involving the buffet the girls love is great. Parts of the cats talking work. Shawkat and Stewart just riffing? Very good. However, the action and thriller elements are generic, some of the broader jokes don’t work, and the visuals suggest something trippier than we actually get. At 100 minutes, it also stretches out its middle act, leading to a shootout finale that feels both out of place and also too stock for what’s come before. Meyer had something here with this flick. She just wasn’t able to fully harness what works.
The Wrong Girls hints at a great comedy, so the fact that it winds up only being a fair one leads to a sense of disappointment. I wanted to like this one, and at times, I did. The film is fun when it’s weird, as opposed to when it’s overly silly. Then, the movie disappoints. If you want to see Kristen Stewart do some comedy, you’ll be pleased. Just keep your expectations in check.
SCORE: ★★★1/2
I gotta say, reading your review, I kept thinking about that famous Gene Siskel quote:
I do love that quote of his, and yes, I’m confident if we were to have sat with Kristen Stewart and her wife Dylan Meyer as the latter was first developing the project, laughing about the funny bits, etc, it would be a joy.