Review: Sisters (2015)


When they find out that their long-suffering parents (Dianne Wiest and James Brolin) are selling the family home, two sisters (Tina Fey and Amy Poehler) decide to throw the wildest party ever, like they’re teenagers all over again. They’re in their 40s. Maya Rudolph plays a former high school rival, Ike Barinholtz plays a nice neighbour Poehler wants to hook up with, Madison Davenport is Fey’s fed-up daughter, Bobby Moynihan plays the grown-up version of the worst class clown ever, and Greta Lee plays a Korean manicurist the sisters befriend.

No, not the Brian De Palma thriller from the 70s, but a 2015 teaming up of former “SNL” “Weekend Update” co-anchors Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who obviously have a nice chemistry together (as do Fey and Jimmy Fallon whenever they appear together). That chemistry, however, isn’t enough to make this lousy comedy scripted by “SNL” writer Paula Pell, worthwhile. The two leads are miscast in the role the other should’ve played, and when current “SNL” Chris Farley-wannabe Bobby Moynihan is getting the only laughs as the most annoying party guest ever, you know a film is seriously desperate. Moynihan, like Jon Lovitz before him makes being unfunny somehow hilarious playing what is essentially an “SNL” sketch character. Fey being cast as the ‘slutty’ sister is just absurd. Directed by Jason Moore (“Pitch Perfect”), a lot of it feels like Fey and Poehler being given free rein to riff and do ‘funny’ stuff, only none of it is particularly funny. At one point they dance to Snow’s ‘Informer’…for no apparent reason, certainly not a funny one.

The plot is particularly appalling, it’s basically “Project X” (not the one with the chimps) with grown-ups instead of teens. I don’t like parties myself, but two women somewhere around 40 throwing a wild party? Give me a break. Add to that their arrested development relationship with their parents who are selling the house, which is both stupid and a bit similar to “Step Brothers”. There’s one particularly embarrassing scene where Poehler attempts to exchange names with an Asian girl that seriously would’ve been seen as unfunny and un-PC ten years ago, let alone now. Sure, this film isn’t trying to be PC, but it’s so stale and cheap.

No, I really didn’t enjoy this one, and the arrested development performances by Fey and Poehler just aren’t funny. They also employ all of the usual suspects for supporting roles like Maya Rudolph doing her usual ‘talking in a funny way that isn’t remotely funny’ thing, Chris Parnell yet again proving to be so unfunny that you just know the only reason he gets gigs is because his friends hire him. Even Rachel Dratch is here, and I haven’t seen her in anything in years. I also thought it was a bit odd that openly gay “SNL” cast member Kate McKinnon turns up here as a stereotypical and one-dimensional butch lesbian in 2015. Aren’t we a bit beyond that stereotype? And why is Heather Matarazzo here? Playing one of Rudolph’s pals there’s no way on Earth she went to school with her, yet the way the film plays out it appears that’s the case. WWE Superstar John Cena turns up as a tattooed drug dealer and fails to get any laughs out of it. Leading man Ike Barinholtz is apparently a familiar face on TV, but I’ve never heard of the guy and he’s got the charisma of beige wallpaper. On the plus side, John Leguizamo is scarily convincing as that guy from school who you run into years later and he has never left town and is the same loser douchebag you’ve spent those years trying to forget.

This is pretty terrible. Who the hell thought it needed to be 2 hours long when there’s about 2 minutes’ worth of decent humour, all contributed by Bobby Moynihan? To be honest, I kind of wished I was watching a James Brolin/Dianne Wiest movie instead of them appearing briefly in this one. Now if we could just get Fey and Jimmy Fallon to play brother and sister on a sitcom, that’s the ticket right there…


Rating: D+

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