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    Sisters

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    I’ve been going back and forth on “Sisters”. It contains many lazy and childish gags that fall flat on their face like they just downed a record-breaking number of shots, but on the plus side the leads work very well with each other and their scenes together are often very funny. When the movie began I thought to myself “so it’s no counter-programming that made Universal release this movie on the same date as ‘Star Wars’… it’s the fact that they didn’t want to waste a GOOD week on this lame attempt at generating laughs”, but as it went along I warmed up to it.

    Tina Fey plays Kate Ellis, the party sister who can’t hold onto a job and always manages to screw things up. Amy Poehler plays Maura, the successful but divorced and uptight sibling. When they discover that their elderly parents are selling the childhood home, they decide to throw one last bash, just like in the good old days.

    There’s a lot of bad comedy here, and I mean BAD. We have prolonged jokes of Maura not being able to pronounce foreign names (although it does introduce Greta Lee in the picture, so it’s not all bad), gags about pubic hair, hair removal gone wrong, people accidentally taking drugs, things getting stuck up people’s butts, and old people sex. Several of these elements are what I would categorize as “desperate comedy”; I half expected some full-frontal male nudity to tip it right over the edge. I was also frustrated with the many moments that branded our female heroes as “too dumb to live”. They make the kind of mistakes that real people would never do. I don’t want to give too much away (I might have already so I apologize for that) but there’s a difference between making a mistake and being a cretin. A mistake is going to an exotic restaurant you’ve never been to, ordering chicken fingers and finding actual chicken feet, nails included, on your plate. An idiot smashes their car into the restaurant’s doors because they heard it “offered drive through”. I know both have their place in a comedy, but I find that far too many movies go for the lazy route, creating characters who could never have actually gotten their college degree because they have no sense at all, instead of cleverly finding ways for regular people to get into comedic situations. “Sisters” goes for the lazy route very frequently.

    The reason “Sisters” frustrated me is because you can see how this could have been a smash. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are great together. They feel like sisters who have been through all kinds of adventures and want to have another. In simple moments where they are driving around and Kate tries to get Maura to loosen up, or the two fondly reminisce over what their childhood was like the film generates several good laughs. Honest laughs that are relatable and have an element of sweetness to them because you can see that these two like each other. I didn’t really care for the film ultimately, but I’d love to see a sequel where the two have to take a road trip, or they suddenly find themselves living together getting ready for a big event or something. Just moments with the two comediennes together, that’s what this movie needed instead of big scenes with tons of people and forced humor. I hate to bring up a negative point once again, but this one really aggravated me. You would have to be catatonic not to recognize even the weakest imitation of Al Pacino as “Scarface”, in any context. It’s a reference so over-used that in my book it immediately detracts points from any film that decides to inject it in its running time, and the people at Maura and Kate don’t “get it”? What kind of alternate dimension is this film set in? Because the most enjoyable part of the film is when Maura and Kate are together, it gets better the nearer it gets to the conclusion, since the conflicts that arise requires them to talk and spent more time on-screen together. I won’t say that every supporting character is bad either. I enjoyed Maya Rudolph for instance because where her character goes by the end of the film feels genuine.

    If you find yourself getting sour and you’re thinking of leaving while watching “Sisters”, give it a chance. It’s true that there are a lot of misses, but the hits are worth seeing. John Cena has a small, but amusing role, there are several strong moments with our female leads and the improvised comedy is worth sticking around for. Stay for the end credits too, because there are some bonus bloopers throughout. If you go to the theatre and “Star Wars” is sold out, they’re not playing “Trumbo” or “Spotlight” and you absolutely have to see a comedy, I suppose I could sum up the energy to point you towards “Sisters”. I might even be able to do so without feeling guilty. (Theatrical version on the big screen, December 17, 2015)

    5
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    adamwatchesmovies@  19.12.2015 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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