Sisters – movie review

The current grande dames of comedy, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, re-unite for Sisters, a comedy about taking things just that bit too far. Each of course had individual success on television (Fey on 30 Rock and Poehler on Parks and Recreation) but their movie output together has been sporadic (Mean Girls and Baby Mama being the most prominent). In Sisters they build on their undeniable chemistry even if the narrative they get to work with isn’t the strongest.

Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect) is in the director’s chair, working from a screenplay by Paula Pell (a frequent contributor to Saturday Night Live) so the creative team is solid. Pell certainly delivers on the sheer “density” of jokes in this film. There’s barely a moment when there isn’t some kind of humour being played out. Not all these jokes “land” (that’s inevitable) and some are on the tasteless side; but overall there’s plenty to laugh about over the course of its just-under 2 hours running time. In cramming all those jokes into the film however, the plot suffers. In the end, the film struggles to find some way to wrap up its narrative threads, and eventually gives up, opting instead for a pat ending; which is a shame considering its promise.

Fey and Poehler are (respectively) Kate and Maura Ellis, the sisters of the title. Kate was the wild-child of the pair, and is now struggling with a series of unsuccessful beauty jobs and a rebellious teenage daughter Kelly (Madison Davenport). Maura, the sensible one, though recently divorced has pretty much landed on her feet. The pair are separately called back to their childhood home in Florida by their parents Bucky (James Brolin) and Deanna (Dianne Wiest) as they need to clear out their untouched teenage bedroom to enable the house to be put on the market. Much to Kate and Maura’s shock, they discover the house has already been sold and their parents have already moved into a condo pending settlement of the sale. A couple of uncomfortable encounters with the new owners (Santino Fontana and Britt Lower) convince them they need to have one last party at the house to relive the “old days” with their friends from those teen years in the 1990s. The guests include the smarmy Dave (John Leguizamo), the excruciatingly unfunny Alex (Bobby Moynihan), Pazuzu (John Cena) a drug dealing mate of Dave’s and attractive neighbour James (Ike Barinholz), who has caught Maura’s eye. But definitely not on the list is Kate’s high school nemesis Brinda (Maya Rudolph).

This is one of those films in which the parts are definitely greater than the whole. There are some really hilarious moments (mainly during the centrepiece party scenes) but they don’t coalesce into something greater. It’s kind of like a series of SNL sketches on a common theme, rather than a cohesive narrative spiced up with jokes. At its heart, the film actually has quite a lot in common with Animal House, the big-screen vehicle for a previous generation of comedians. And like Animal House, this film never really transcends its sketch comedy roots.

As you might have guessed, the glue that holds this project together is the chemistry between Poehler and Fey. Their obvious physical differences aside, their rapport is such you could believe they actually are sisters. That each manages to hold their own even as the plot grows sillier, is a testament to their talent. They’re helped out by some very funny supporting performances, notably John Cena (Trainwreck) as the muscle-bound drug dealer and Bobby Moynihan (Ted 2) as the nerd who goes on a drug-fuelled bender. James Brolin and Dianne Wiest, who play a married couple on the TV show Life in Pieces do much the same thing here and bring some much-needed sanity to proceedings. Maya Rudolph isn’t well-served by the script but still manages some funny moments as the somewhat snobby Brinda.

While Sisters won’t change anyone’s life, it’s an enjoyable – if disposable – night at the movies.

Director: Jason Moore
Cast: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, John Leguizamo, John Cena, Maya Rudolph
Release Date: 7 January 2016
Rating: MA15+

David Edwards