ROMY AND MICHELE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION
A film review by Craig Good
Copyright 1997 Craig Good
I bravely predict that Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino will be completely overlooked come Oscar time since the Academy still seems to think that there's something easy about doing comedy. Perhaps it's because once in a while someone like Kudrow or Sorvino will come along and make it look so easy. In "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" their performances are a reminder that at least half of story telling is in the telling -- it's not just the script.
The script by Robin Schiff is good, and it is funny, but the story itself doesn't break particularly new ground. Which doesn't matter a whit because it *is* funny, and the film *is* good. Sorvino and Kudrow turn in performances which accomplish something rare: they give a real depth and humanity to a couple of shallow people. They are also funny and fun to watch. (Any red--blooded male could be entirely forgiven for becoming obsessed with Mira Sorvino's mouth after watching her talk for a while.)
On the surface, Romy and Michele are none too bright. They haven't managed to do anything impressive in ten years after high school except bond in a vital friendship. Their joy is positively contagious as they continue to find the things they have in common. Every time they give each other that "Wow, you *too*?" look it's a moment of discovery for them. That these things are all completely banal is beside the point. The basic arc of the story, that they fight and then rediscover their friendship, is easy to see coming. What's pleasantly unpredictable is just what these two are going to do or say next. It's pleasant mostly because just about everything they say or do is funny.
Speaking of good work likely to be overlooked, this movie happens to have some of the most subtile effects makeup work I've ever seen. There is some good age makeup in a dream sequence but (and I'm being vague so as not to spoil anything) check out the character in the limo who says he has had plastic surgery. Now that is really nice work.
Back to the movie. Another fun performance to watch is that of Janeane Garofalo as the uptight and in a rush woman with a chip on her shoulder the size of Montana. And aside from the romantic frustrations she suffered in high school the best I can figure is that she's just angry because she has such a big chip on her shoulder.
Walking home from the theatre I could overhear the conversation of a couple of young teen girls who were busily analyzing Romy and Michele's clothes and hair in each sequence of the movie. I'd bet folding money that neither of them realized how much they sounded just like Romy and Michele. They reminded me that no matter how far off the wall they got (which is pretty darn far by the end of the reunion) Romy and Michele were in the end bright, likeable and most of all, human. If you're looking for a fun time at the movies you could do a lot worse.
OK? OK!
--Craig (good@pixar.com)
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