There was a time when crude jokes about sex and scenes featuring our protagonists accidentally eating somebody else’s excrement, were limited somewhat to adolescent, teenage boy films such as American Pie or Kevin & Perry Go Large. However, the comedic emphasis in Hollywood seems to be forever tipping, as following on from the likes of Bridesmaids comes Maggie Carey’s The To Do List – where this time it’s the girls’ chance to talk about sex, in the most inelegant way you could possibly imagine.
When the assiduous, sexually naïve Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza) finishes high school, she feels under pressure from her peers, and older sister Amber (Rachel Bilson), to be more adventurous and well-versed in her sex life before starting college. She therefore creates a ‘to do list’, whereby she makes an agenda of activities to accomplish, ranging from tea-bagging (“Must be a British thing”) to losing her virginity with Rusty Waters (Scott Porter), a narcissistic hunk who she works with at the local swimming pool. The problem is, Brandy doesn’t quite know what anything on her list truly entails.
What separates The To Do List from the collection of other high school comedies we see each year, is that it’s placed in 1993 – and it’s nostalgia-infused setting is the film’s most consistent form of comedy. The era is depicted lovingly, yet with a shade of ridicule, as pop culture from the era is affectionately referenced throughout this production. It’s exaggerated too, in the fashion sense and language we no longer use – yet it never once feels contrived or forced. On the surface, this Carey feature is somewhat inane and whimsical, and yet there is a quite appropriate message about sex at that age within this, basically coming to the conclusion that it’s really important and needs to be taken seriously, but also, that it isn’t important at all and doesn’t need to be taken seriously. A conflicting, yet surprisingly philosophical way of looking at the taboo subject.
The jokes themselves are immoderately frivolous, being both vulgar and elementary, yet working perfectly within these surroundings. Sometimes sitting down for 100 minutes to laugh about sex and teenage antics is exactly what you need, and when it’s done well, such as this, it makes for hilarious cinematic stomping ground. Carey ensures that her tongue remains in cheek throughout also, which is certainly needed as far as films such as this are concerned. However on a more negative note – and as great a performance as she turns in – Plaza sure as hell isn’t 17 years of age. It’s like Stifler all over again. That said, she does portray a girl of that age with incredible sincerity, and does about as good a job as she can, it’s just, you know, the fact she looks like a 28 year old woman that lets her down.
The To Do List isn’t going to blow you away, but it’s a really funny, imaginative comedy that should have you giggling to yourself throughout. In the meantime, make your own list of things to do this weekend if you want, and just be sure to include ‘seeing this movie’ somewhere within it. However be sure to cross out ‘spend time with your parents’, because the two are not quite mutually exclusive in this instance.
[Rating:3/5]
