The chemistry
between these two “Saturday Night Live” alumni is undeniable, even if this is
only the second feature they have starred in together. Often it is their
ability to play off of each other so effortlessly which allows us to believe
they are sisters, far more than the actresses’ ability to look like each other,
and it is also what saves Sisters
from an unfocused screenplay. If you ever thought that a “SNL” skit was funny
until it repeated the same joke way past its welcome, you will have an idea of
the type of approach Paula Pell takes in writing Sisters, with half of a lengthy 2-hour comedy centered on the joke
that is middle-aged people partying like they are teenagers again.
It is clear that
Pell wrote this screenplay with many of these actors already in mind, but just
because they play to their strengths does not make the material any more
believable. It somehow feels like a group of “SNL” characters were unleashed
onto the real world, but there aren’t enough normal people to balance the
absurdity of the quirks everyone in the cast has. At the center of the plot are
the two title sisters played by Tina Fey (“30 Rock”) and Amy Poehler (“Parks
and Recreation”), complete with shoehorned character arcs. Maura (Poehler) is the
responsible sister, in a role that feels like a less joyous extension of her
“Parks and Recreation” character, whereas Fey’s Kate is an irresponsible
sibling with a teenage daughter of her own (played by Madison Davenport) who is
far more reliable.
When Kate and Maura’s parents (James
Brolin, Dianne Wiest) suddenly sell their childhood home, the sisters decide to
throw one last party before moving out their stuff. As infamous as their
parties were in the past, Sisters
forces the audience to endure the predictably contrived dullness of an adult
party, mostly comprised of uncomfortable and uninteresting conversations. It
isn’t until their lesbian friends begin to DJ and an unconventional drug dealer
(played by John Cena with little more than random single-premise jokes) arrives
to spice up the party that the movie starts to build energy. This is also when
all intelligence is banished from the screenplay, replaced by sophomoric
slapstick and raunchy dialogue instead.
There are some weak attempts at
placing plot into the narrative during this extended party sequence. Maya
Rudolph co-stars as a scorned former foe of Kate, desperate to be invited to
one of the sisters’ infamous parties, despite putting on a front of pretentious
maturity. Kate also must learn to be more responsible over the course of the
party, a much more difficult and forced idea to convey than Maura’s attempt to
loosen up with an attractive neighbor (Ike Barinholtz) she invites to the
party. There are occasional moments of contrived character growth, peaking when
Kate must conveniently use her former party skills to save her daughter from a
sudden backyard sinkhole, though the natural tendency of Sisters is clearly irreverent silliness.
There is an assortment of supporting
characters to make certain Sisters
has no shortage of goofiness, though not nearly enough normal characters to
play reactions off of the actions of caricatures. John Leguizamo is a former
high school bad boy who is now just a sleazy middle-aged man with STDs. Rachel
Dratch is a barely humanized version of her “Debbie Downer” persona, Samantha
Bee and Matt Oberg are a couple that enjoys discreet sex in public, and Bobby
Moynihan steals a number of scenes as the class clown who still can’t make
anyone laugh. Sisters won’t even
allow these characters to just exist, instead cramming most of them into
convenient ‘happily-ever-after’ couples by the end credits.
In case the two-hour running-time is
not enough, the Blu-ray also includes an unrated extended version which is
about five minutes longer, not to mention an assortment of additional footage
in the special features. There are deleted scenes, extended scenes, improved
variations on lines, and even a gag reel to compete with the bloopers played
over the end credits. There is also a commentary track with the two stars,
Pell, and director Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect), not to mention the additional
extras that are exclusive to the Blu-ray disc. These are far less substantial
than the extra footage and commentary track, mostly comprised of unnecessary
featurettes discussing various elements of the narrative. Only a single
featurette about special effects has content that doesn’t just feel like
promotional material. The Blu-ray combo pack also comes with a DVD and Digital
HD copy of the film.
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 4.5/10
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