7 years ago Tina Fey introduced us to a group of irredeemable high school girls known as the Plastics in her film Mean Girls. As crude, and over exaggerated as these characters were, there was just enough truth in them to make them appear familiar. Let’s be real, we’ve all known at least one or two Regina Georges in our life.
Like all high school teen dramas, Mean Girls ends with most of its antagonists changing for the better, but when push comes to shove, that’s not usually how it turns out in the real world. So horrible sequels aside, we are left wondering what would these women really be like in their adult years. Where would the Plastics be if we could fast forward 8 years into the future. Just substitute the Plastics for the “B-Faces,” and Regina George for an even more despicable Regan (Kirsten Dunst), and you have the film Bachelorette.
Bachelorette tells the story of a group of dysfunctional friends, who must come together once again, when their overweight and insecure friend Becky (Rebel Wilson), gets her storybook wedding. At the forefront of the story you have your egocentric control freak with Regan, the ditsy and depressed Katie (Isla Fisher), and then finally there is Gena (Lizzy Caplan), who comes off as a messed up evil twin of Zooey Deschanel. Together, they must try and overcome the weight of their individual baggage, in order to organize the dream wedding that they feel they deserve more. As you might expect, things go terribly, terribly wrong.
Now I don’t know what it is about Kirsten Dunst playing these vile characters in wedding films, but it is most certainly doing wonders for her career! The character of Regan is kind of a throwback to her childhood role of Claudia in Interview with the Vampire, and it’s the kind of role that she was born to play. At times, I found myself sitting in the theater grateful that I wasn’t able to swing an interview with the woman because there was no way that what I was seeing on the screen was just an act. Regan is the type of girl you love to hate and she absolutely steals the show.
Inevitably, this film will end up drawing comparisons to Bridesmaids, if not simply for the fact that it’s a comedy, told from the female perspective, that revolves around well… a bunch of bridesmaids! However, unlike this film’s 2011 contemporary, Bachelorette ends up being more than just a raunchy female comedy. Sure, there is a fair share of dirty humor, but beneath all that is a story that touches on some of the heavier female issues that many similar films tend to ignore (Depression, Bulimia, Self Image, etc.).
Bachelorette marks the directorial debut of Leslye Highland, but honestly you would never know it if somebody didn’t tell you. Highland has a background in theater and that is undoubtedly why she was able to get such great performances from her cast, without ever having shot on the medium.
Now technically a movie like this has absolutely no business at Sundance. With its fair share of big name stars and high production values, this film was already meant for the multiplexes long before it even got accepted into the festival itself. So if you were worried about missing it here at the festival, then fear not! You’ll probably be seeing it pop back up in the not so distant future!
[Rating:4/5]
