I have really enjoyed the majority of Paul Feig movies that
I have seen, so I was really looking forward to this one. While not in his usual vein of zany comedy (Spy
is fantastic, and so is Bridesmaids), I still really enjoyed this movie and found
it difficult to categorize.
Stephanie is a single mom who helps out at her son’s school,
organizing and chasing down other moms while also maintaining her vlog of crafting
and cooking mommy tips. Her son Miles,
befriends another child at school named Nicky, leading Stephanie to encounter
Nicky’s mom, Emily.
Emily is nothing like Stephanie; she’s both crass and
elegant, she drinks in the morning and works at a high fashion line as the PR
rep. She curses at her boss on the phone
and wildly makes out with her husband in front of strangers. She’s so intriguing to Stephanie and the two
quickly bond. One day, Emily calls
Stephanie saying something has come up at work – her husband Sean is in London
with his mother. She needs a simple
favor from Stephanie – to pick up Nicky from school and hang on to him for a
few hours. The hours turn into
overnight, then a day, then a couple of days, and Stephanie starts to worry. She calls Sean in London – he comes home, and
together they contact the police. From
there, Stephanie does what she can to learn what happened to Emily, while
stepping in to help out Nicky and Sean.
I can’t really say anything else without ruining it for you,
and you really should check this one out. The movie is funny and serious, and
pulls off the balance of a comedic thriller more than anything else I have seen.
Feig somehow manages to make a fairly dark comedy that is incredibly watchable
and entertaining. The music is amazing,
the way the movie is shot is just stunning, and the cast is absolutely
fantastic.
- Anna Kendrick is perfection as the uptight Stephanie. She goes from concerned to her friend to shocked at what she learns, then determined when chasing down the truth.
- Blake Lively shines as Emily. She is so chic and fashionable, while also being really nasty – it was easy to see why Stephanie was so enamored with her so quickly!
- Henry Golding (my new pick for James Bond) plays Sean, Emily’s husband. This is really the year of Henry Golding – he shone in Crazy Rich Asians and does what he can here to steal some scenes, referring to his wife as a ‘beautiful ghost’.
- Glenda Braganza, Andrew Rannells, Kelly McCormack and Aparna Nancherla play some of the other mothers at school who are mystified by the friendship between Stephanie and Emily.
- Linda Cardellini plalys Diana Hyland, someone from Emily’s past.
- Jean Smart plays Margaret McLanden, an old recluse.
- Rupert Friend as Dennis Nylon, the fashion designer that Emily works for who gets several hilarious scenes.
- Bashir Salahuddin as Detective Summerville, a jovial police detective who is on the case, and is so friendly about being suspicious of you!
Overall, the movie is really wonderful and one of my biggest
surprises of the year. Definitely go see it.
9 out of 10, losing a little bit for the one cheesy thing at
the end, but honestly that was really funny too.
Cast Interviews;
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