by Brittany Wiesner (Staff Writer)
You Again has an all-star cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Bell, Kristen Chenoweth and Betty White. Yet, even if you’re dying to see it, you may want to wait for the video. While it is hilarious and the cast is amazing, there is still something to be desired.
The plot revolves around Marni (Kristen Bell), a woman who, despite her current success, was a consistently teased loser in high school. She heads home for her brother’s wedding only to find out he’s marrying the girl, Joanna (Odette Yustman), who was a key player in making Marni’s life a living hell. Hilarity ensues as Marni tries to not only save her brother from the marriage but also prove that she’s not the same girl she was in high school. Her mother, Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis), becomes sympathetic to her plight when Joanna’s aunt, Ramona (Sigourney Weaver), arrives and brings with her the wrongs from her mother’s past as well.
Over all it’s a comedic movie focusing on the idea that you aren’t what you were in high school: you aren’t your label, you can change and grow and just because you were something in high school doesn’t mean you’ll be the same in the real world. It’s a powerful message and one many teens need to learn.
However, the film does not convey it as well as it could have. There was little growth from the characters; they resort to petty, mischievous actions, which at times were more ridiculous than funny.
The cast saved the film. The comedic stylings of Betty White, the talent of Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis and Kristen Bell, who’s a quickly rising star, were all able to save the heart of the film. If it weren’t for their talent, this would have become a straight to DVD movie. Not to say the writing is terrible, it’s just that there’s a fine line between laugh worthy and just plain silly – and they tend toward the ridiculous and unbelievable side of things.
By the end of the film the characters have learned something, resolved issues and ended up friends. There is even a Hall and Oates musical number with everyone dancing. This is the perfect amount of cheesy to add to an already cheese-tastic film, and adds to its appeal as a chick-flick/rent on a girl’s night/watch with your mom type movie.
While the lesson is there, the filmmakers should have expanded on it to really prove their point. Sitting in the theatre you can’t help but relive embarrassing or traumatic events from high school and think how you’ve changed since then. What happens in high school barely matters in the real world, but, sadly, it will define who you become – it shouldn’t but it does. In the end the film just shows that the geek will become successful, and the bitch that tormented her (or him) will have a worse off life, while the truth of the matter is it can go either way for everyone. All in all, watch this for the cast, but wait until the DVD comes out.
