“My safe word is “keep going”
On the surface a comedy might look like the easiest thing to pull off when it comes to a movie. You would think you put characters in funny situations and make them say and do funny things and you are done. While you might think that takes you half-way there with that plan, you think then just by adding a funny guy and or funny girl and presto, you have a comedy. Now I want you to think about all the bad comedies you have seen just in the last few years, now it doesn’t look to be that easy.
The last few years Amy Poehler and Tina Fey hosted the Golden Globes, and as they say in the industry, “killed it”. All everyone wanted to do was have them star in everything, and it seems writer Paula Pell had the perfect vehicle, a movie where they play sisters. Kate (Tina Fey) is a hairstylist, whose life is a little chaotic. Currently she is working out of her friend’s kitchen, while her daughter is AWOL, because mom just doesn’t have it together. Maura (Amy Poehler), Kate’s younger sister is a nurse, who is recovering from a divorce, and kind of avoiding life at the moment. After a phone call with her mother Deana (Dianne Wiest), Maura is informed that her parents are selling the home they grew up in, and that her and her sister need to come clean out their room. While Maura takes it ok, Kate doesn’t and once back in their old house, decide that they need to throw one last party in their old home. They soon invite all their friends from High School, and what begins as a way to let off steam, instead helps them discover what is truly important after all.
After watching The Golden Globes, I also wanted to see these two ladies do more together, especially host the Oscars. While that dream might not be dead, the idea of me wanting to see them in anything might be. I didn’t care what the story was in “Sisters”, all I wanted to do was watch Poehler and Fey do that thing they do so well, and put a smile on my face, with plenty of laughter. While “Sisters” did make me smile more then a few times, what was lacking was the laughter. While watching the film, you couldn’t help but think of what a great time everyone involved had making this film, unfortunately we were left out. There was plenty of laughing in the theater I was at, but for me the jokes felt like they were grasping for chuckles. I don’t think this is a bad movie, and really just felt ok for me. What I do think though is that somehow someone found a way to make two of the funnier women out there, not as funny as they could be. The film ultimately boils down to a movie about middle age people trying to recapture their younger days, all while ignoring the present. While not their best work, this film will find an audience; I just wish these two ladies were given the platform to show their talents that they deserved.
