Marni (Bell), a harassed-high-school-nerd-turned-PR-wizard, heads home for her brother’s wedding, only to find out that he’s marrying her high school nemesis Joanna (Yustman). It also turns out that Marni’s mother (Curtis) and Joanna’s Aunt Ramona (Weaver) had their own dealings in high school. What follows is an insipid, uninspired rom-com about bitter, petty ladies.
I feel bad for Kristen Bell. She made a name for herself as Veronica Mars, but has since landed in a string of dopey rom-coms (When in Rome) and lowbrow comedies (Couples Retreat). This film only adds to that streak, and drags an otherwise talented cast down with it. The plot is a mishmash of cliches and contrivances, the characters are sets of quirks and little else, and the conflicts are just bland. You have Ripley and the girl who killed Michael Myers as rivals in the same movie, and no fights break out? Some sharper writing (and claws) would have greatly benefited this clunker. However, the biggest sin this movie commits is its misuse of Betty White. She’s given little else to say than what’s in the commercials, and even that is tepid at best. It’s not particularly hard to write funny material for her, and they miss the mark completely. Heresy. It’s never a good sign when I feel embarrassed for those onscreen, and that happened several times during my viewing. Skip it.
