Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have great chemistry together – it’s pretty much the saving grace of their first film Baby Mama. There Fey played the straight-laced one and Poehler was the trashy one; here the dynamics are reversed as the duo play sisters (duh) united in outrage at the news that their parents are selling the family home. Turns out, the sale has already gone through and that inspires the duo to hold one last blow-out party to relive old times, and yes, this really is a “party” film a la endless dodgy teen efforts (Project X, anyone?).
The various character bits for Fey and Poehler are mildly amusing. The real laughs – and this is already a front-runner for biggest laugh-getter of 2016 – come from Fey being sleazy and (to a slightly lesser extent) Poehler being sweet and flustered (ok, the supporting cast are pretty strong too). Likewise, while the overall story is pretty wobbly – the party’s great as it gets more and more over the top, the scenes either side less so – there are just so many great and funny lines here that the big picture doesn’t matter. As a vehicle for Fey and Poehler this is merely good; it’s the duo driving the vehicle that make it great.
Reviewed by Anthony Morris