"Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reviewed by Rory B Mackay
5 Star Rating: ***
In Brief: Nothing original, or even that funny, but not without its charm.
Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe from "Friends") and Mira Sorvino star in this aimiable comedy. Remember Jim Carrey's "Dumb and Dumber"? Well this film might well have been named "Blonde and Blonder". It was a bit of a surprise, actually, that Lisa Kudrow is basically playing a mirror image of her kooky "Friends" character, Phoebe Buffay. Not that I mind, after all I love "Friends" and Phoebe's probably my favourite character. It's just a wonder that Kudrow agreed to star in a film that basically stereotypes her as the scatty blonde. Still, she plays the part tremendously well, and joined by Mira Sorvino -- well, there's too Phoebes!
The plot revolves around Romy and Michelle's impending High School reunion (funnily enough!) and their attempts to make themselves appear more successful than they have actually turned out ("You won't believe this, but I invented the Post-it!"). Maybe you've already figured that there's nothing terribly original or fresh about the plot. True, there's not, in fact the film is riddled with cliches. But I don't really care, 'cos they're fun cliches, and this is a fun film.
I'm not so sure it's that funny a film, though. There are some funny moments, but it's more the type of comedy that'll have you quietly smiling to yourself, occasionally giggling, as opposed to rolling around the floor in hysterics. It's a quiet, gentle humour but quite enjoyable all the same. Kudrow and Sorvino are made for the roles, and are a lot of fun throughout. There are also a number of other engaging (if cliched) characters who were good fun.
One thing I could have done without was the obligatory "Romy and Michelle fall out" which popped up, jarringly, in the middle of the film. It felt forced and unoriginal. We knew they'd make up by the end of the film, anyway. Another annoying thing was one of those exceptionally frustrating "Oh, I've just woken up -- the past half hour was all a dream!" sequences. I wanted to cry out "Cheat! Cheat! CHEAT!"
So, summing up; the film is unashamedly unoriginal and maybe not quite as funny as it could have been it's an enjoyable, feel-good yarn. Worth a look.
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