Courtney Howard // Film Critic
THE WRONG GIRLS
Rated R, 1 hour and 40 minutes
Directed by: Dylan Meyer
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, Chris Estrada, LaKeith Stanfield, Zack Fox, Kate McKinnon, Geena Davis, Zed Cutsinger, Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, Cate Blanchett
Dylan Meyer’s THE WRONG GIRLS plays like a delightfully cuckoo, weed-laced ROMY AND MICHELLE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION meets DICK and THE BIG LEBOWSKI. It also doubles as a heartfelt ode to female friendship, cats and the sprawling topography of Los Angeles. The madcap caper is centered on two bumbling boobs (one of whom sports arm tattoo reading “Cool Boobs” where the oo’s are illustrated as breasts) stumbling into a sticky-icky situation involving a top secret drug derived from squid DNA, a squad of well-dressed Danish henchmen, a stolen Celine Dion cardboard cutout and an absolutely buck wild 24 hours. Filled with psychedelic hilarity and hijinks, it’s a blazing new cult classic.
Frankie (Kristen Stewart) and Molly (Alia Shawkat) are buds, who are at their best hanging out together on the couch, ripping bong hits, eating sugary snacks and zoning out in their aptly named “Casa de Chill Zone” Valley duplex pad. However, rent is due and their friendly, talkative landlord Jose (Chris Estrada) needs them to pay up. The pair need to get their lives together – and quick. Molly works on a spreadsheet for work to pay her half, but Frankie is having problems raising funds. She’s got a $2400 bill to pay in addition to her monthly portion and her thankless gig economy delivery job isn’t gonna cut it. Adding friction into the stressful mix, Molly’s saintly, loving boyfriend Josh (Zack Fox) asks Molly to move in with him – something Molly knows would upset her jealous bestie as Frankie has an irrational dislike of Josh.
As the dynamic duo wait for inspiration to strike, Frankie lucks into a massive opportunity. Her night out confronting her ex-beau at a concert leads to a case of mistaken identity, when Not Metal Head Dave (LaKeith Stanfield) mistakes her for the look-a-like scientist gal (whom Frankie dubs “the upgraded version of me”) he’s supposed to contact as part of a sting operation. He gives her a locked briefcase, later discovered by Molly and Frankie to be filled with vials of a mysterious neon-color liquid. The gals come up with an idea to sell off the goods at a high-class party, but not before getting high on this mystery supply. When the top secret goods don’t materialize for the real recipient, Mr. Kock, three handsome hitmen descend on the gals’ home and steal their stuff. What transpires is a raucous pursuit all over LA with Molly, Frankie and their tempestuous cats Dio (Seth Rogen) and GG (Kumail Nanjiani) trying to evade capture and return the loot to its proper owner.
The Coen Brothers’ influence courses through the film’s veins, from the trio who terrorize our heroines to the overarching narrative construct of unassuming colorful characters unwittingly being dragged into a criminal scheme. It’s refreshing to see aimless female characters lead the “one wild and crazy night” cinematic subgenre for a change. Meyer comes up with enough entertaining lunacy to keep her heroines on the run all over the expansive LA area, from deep in the Valley all the way to Santa Monica. Frankie and Molly’s crazy adventures place them in over-the-top mishigas, showing them giggling in crazy German scientist Dr. Olsen’s (Kate McKinnon) garage laboratory, attending a Stanford alumni party where they sport DIY garbage-bag dresses hoping to unload their stolen merchandise, and escaping an abandoned industrial warehouse where the pair are detained.
While the laughter springs eternal from these stoners’ shenanigans, the connective magic is the gals’ witty repartee and quotable one-liners. Their banter and relationship dynamics feel rooted in a sense of universal reality, despite the film inhabiting a heightened one. All the female characters have rich inner lives, individual strengths and interesting internal and external conflicts. Even the Celine Dion cardboard cutout (the ladies’ most prized possession) is 3 dimensional and more than just a prop. Meyer even repurposes Dion’s love ballad “Because You Loved Me,” using it better than the movie the song was originally housed in (UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL). It’s touching to see female friendship portrayed with natural vibrancy, humor and – most audaciously – genuine heart. It’ll make you wanna call your best bud after your screening.
Meyer makes a few rookie mistakes. The entire subplot involving obnoxiously wealthy and arrogant Stanford alumni Martin Flynn (Tony Hale), his cool video-game playing son (Zed Cutsinger) and scandalous blackmail material doesn’t go anywhere particularly funny, nor does it impact the narrative. In fact, Meyer forgets to even put a proper ending on it as the girls’ alternate Get Rich Quick Scheme. Frankie and Molly’s argument arrives at a predictable moment and, while there is earned closure that follows, the story beat lacks an innovative uniqueness that the rest of the film has in spades. Plus, the cats’ voiceovers, expressing disgruntled disdain at their owners’ incompetence, undermines the momentum, energy and emotion of a few scenes.
Stewart and Shawkat are a perfectly lit pairing, playing off of each other’s absurdist jokes in real time to elevate the zany bits and nail their peppy volleys. They’re a great match, but wholly capable individuals too. Stewart turns in a screwball comedy-esque, effervescent, funny AF performance. The material complements Shawkat’s impeccable comedic delivery, as well as gifting her vulnerable moments.
Grade: B+
THE WRONG GIRLS will be in select theaters on August 14.
