'Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar' Review
PG13: For crude sexual content, drug use and some strong language
Runtime: 1 Hr and 47 Minutes
Production Companies: Lionsgate, Gloria Sanchez Productions, Stellie
Distributor: Lionsgate
Director: Josh Greenbaum
Writer: Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, Jamie Dornan, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Damon Wayans Jr.
Release Date: February 12, 2021
Video on Demand
Two best friends, Barb and Star, leave their small Midwestern town for the first time to go on vacation in Vista Del Mar, Florida, where they soon find themselves tangled up in adventure, love, and a villain's evil plot to kill everyone in town.
A decade ago, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo wrote a little studio comedy called Bridesmaids and they took the world by storm. That movie was so damn successful that it was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars the following year. Now, in 2021 –– though initially slated to be released last summer –– Wiig and Mumolo are back in a light, fuzzy buddy comedy that is… silly and cute?
Given how quickly Lionsgate did the marketing for Barb and Star, with the first trailer being released as short as two weeks ago, treating it like your average January movie where you don’t market it and then randomly drop it, I was a bit anxious going into it. Holy crap, this film was such a pleasant surprise in the best way imaginable.
Picture two middle-aged Midwestern best friends with the heart of Ted Lasso and the closeness of Bert and Ernie, even down to being roommates who sleep in separate beds directly across from each other. They just love their routine of doing everything together and being completely inseparable, like sisters from different misters. When their routine gets rocked unexpectedly, the two get a referral from a friend to take a well-deserved vacation to Vista Del Mar, Florida. While there, they inadvertently find themselves thrown into a villainous plot through Edgar Paget (Dornan), an agent working for a villainous woman who must learn the true meaning of love through Barb and Star.
The best way to describe Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is like if you combined the absurdist, nonsensical, silly nature of the early days of Spongebob Squarepants, the light charm of a Muppets movie and a dash of Austin Powers played towards the late-‘00s/early-‘10s SNL crowd. In simple terms, this is a live-action cartoon and I mean that in the best way imaginable. We don’t get buddy comedies like this these days where the leads aren’t yelling their punchlines, bickering too much, or getting on your nerves. Barb and Star have an inseparable two-peas-in-a-pod bond and it’s adorable. It’s very clear that this was a passion project for Wiig and Mumolo; it’s evident by the script and, most importantly, their performances. Wiig and Mumolo bounce off each other with chemistry that helps you buy into their friendship and their characters. At first, you think they’re simple caricatures of the white suburban lifestyle in their own bizarre, satirically silly way, but they’re actually genuine, lovable characters who are as charming as Bill and Ted.
Jamie Dornan took me by surprise, for this is the first comedy feature he has starred in and he jumps right into the silliness with glee. The film opens like an Austin Powers movie where the antagonist, named Sharon Gordon Fisherman –– who has the white vastness of a character straight out of a Burton movie –– enlists her himbo simp of an agent, Edgar, to go to Vista Del Mar to execute her diabolical plot. You question what the hell is going on, especially since the titular leads haven’t been established, but it ultimately does a great job setting up Edgar’s individual arc. When the two worlds collide, the fun takes its full course and Dornan is utterly delightful. Please, do more comedies, Jamie Dornan. I didn’t know you had such great comedic talents.
The film is riddled with many sight gags and random humor and it’s pretty consistent regarding the constant absurdism. It never sacrifices its integrity to deliver a bottom-of-the-barrel gag or make cringe-worthy jokes. Even when I’m trying to guess the outcome of a joke, it goes the extra mile to catch me off guard, leaving me in stitches cry-laughing my ass off.
You can’t have Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo dress in pink and yellow (respectively) and not compare it to Spongebob, but yeah, Barb and Star take many of the comedic sensibilities of early Spongebob. Even when I questioned what the fuck was happening, the movie presented a valid explanation for its random humor.
Wiig and Mumolo accomplished something that not many studio comedies can: make a comedy about a vacation and not have it be a blatant excuse for them to go on vacation. A lot of passion and effort went into this production and it shows, such as the set designs of various locations like Sharon Gordon Fisherman’s lair and the fictional Vista Del Mar. They make this beautiful paradise vacation spot breathe so much personality that I was bummed when I learned it wasn’t a real place. There are several unexpected musical numbers and I was shocked by how much effort and precision went into them and the execution was so impressive. It’s not enough to classify it as a musical, but the numbers that are present gave it the comedic extravagance and flair of a Muppets movie. Considering this is director Josh Greenbaum’s first narrative feature in his career, all I want is for him to helm a Muppets movie. Hell, let Wiig and Mumolo write it.
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar made me laugh so loud ample times, but not all the jokes were winners. Whenever the film is proud of some of the most ambitiously random, nonsensical bits, they tend to overstay their welcome. Thankfully, the film itself moves at a fast pace so whatever doesn’t land can quickly be disregarded because the next joke is just around the corner.
Like a ton of studio comedies, this features one of my biggest pet peeves where the editing is a bit too choppy. Some shots just straight-up lack continuity, which is a shame because it does benefit from having great cutaways. Ugh. Studio comedies, I beg of you. From one editor to another, please be consistent with your editing. I know you’re busy trying to make me laugh, but I’m not disregarding the other important aspects and I’m way too damn critical with the consistency of editing.
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is both the first pleasant surprise and one of the instant best comedies of the new year. Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo deliver both on- and off-screen chemistry with such a light and hysterical comedy. I know this movie is only being released on premium VOD, but man, this would’ve done well in theaters. It was initially supposed to be a summer comedy in 2020, but oh well. At least it’s accessible and I hope many people get the chance to check it out.
