Don’t waste your time with titles that rhyme
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, Jamie Dornan Director: Josh Greenbaum Duration: 1 h 47 m Available: On demand
Movies with titles that rhyme have a spotty track record. Think of drop dead Fred, Good Luck Chuck, From Prada to Nada or the mouthful that is Mr. Magorium’s Wonder emporium. And don’t even get me started on despicable Me 3.
All of which brings us to barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar, whose title and concept sound like the film spinoff of a forgotten Saturday Night Live sketch. Kristen Wiig and her writing partner Annie Mumolo (bridesmaids) star as Star and barb, best friends with screechy Nebraskan accents.
When the single, middle-aged women are cut loose from their jobs at a furniture store, they use the severance money and free time to visit the fictional West Florida resort town of Vista del Mar.
Wait, let’s back up a little. The first scene, which might have you thinking you’re streaming the wrong movie, features an evil genius planning a biological warfare attack on the small town that once did her wrong. (We’ll let you guess what town that is, but it’s fictional and not in east Florida.)
She’s also played by Wiig, but the star is almost unrecognizable in a costume that looks like what would happen if you cast Tilda Swinton as dr. evil. She sends her henchman, edgar (Jamie dornan), out to do the dirty work.
OK, back to Vista del Mar, where the two culotte-loving protagonists bump into and both fall for edgar, who has an unrequited thing for his boss. The shenanigans that follow are a scattershot mix of impromptu musical numbers, quasi-celebrity cameos (e.g., a Morgan Freeman soundalike) and middle-aged-lady humour. (The gals can’t order frog legs from the resort menu because all they can think of is Kermit riding his bike in The Muppet Movie.)
Meanwhile, the evil plot continues to march forward, with edgar torn between doing his boss’s bidding and spending time with Star and barb. (Perhaps not surprisingly, he’s most drawn to the one who plays both evil genius and Nebraskan naïf.) damon Wayans Jr. pops up as darlie bunkle, the world’s most sharing secret agent.
I went into this one with high hopes, buoyed not only by Wiig’s work in bridesmaids, but by her refusal to do a needless sequel to it.
unfortunately this one is a hit-and-miss affair, with some comic bits that work wonderfully and others that fall flat and/or overstay their effectiveness.
barb and Star amounts to a semi-forgettable vacation, made slightly more enjoyable by the fact that it’s the only sunny-destination trip you’re likely to take for a while. ★★½