Weekend Watch: Mean Girl Movies

It was my wife’s birthday last Sunday so when she wanted to wind down an awesome weekend filled with wine tasting, cake and presents, by watching a movie together and cuddling, I didn’t object. Getting to spend time with her and be able to watch a movie is always a plus — especially when I choose to review said movie.

After wading through Comcast’s limited On Demand movie selection she chose to watch "Bachelorette" (2012). It was hard swallowing the $6.99 price tag for a movie that I hadn’t heard much about, but I wasn’t about to tell the birthday girl "no."

I should have.

"Bachelorette" centers on a group of mean-girls who have known each other since highschool: Regan (Kirsten Dunst), Gena (Lizzy Caplan) and Katie (Isla Fisher) who are asked to be bridesmaids by their friend Becky (Rebel Wilson), a chubby girl, who they not-so-secretly made fun of regularly.

The concept of "Bachelorette" is interesting: Mixing the clique dynamic of "Mean Girls" with the raunchiness of "Bridesmaids" should have resulted in hilarity — but it doesn’t.

The movie fails on multiple levels, but there are two blatant issues that I had: First, the characters that Director/Writer Leslye Headland wrote are bland archetypes that we’ve seen in a million different movies. They are not original in any way, and they truly have no redeeming qualities, so therefore I cannot sympathize or empathize with them. (This is the first rule of script writing.)

Second, due to uneven directing, the film doesn’t know what it wants to be. It tries to be a comedy, while at the same time imparting life lessons via dramatic moments. Seasoned directors can use this to achieve poignant films that touch us deeply, but in less skilled hands these types of films fall flat.

I suggest steering clear of "Bachelorette". Instead try watching "Mean Girls" followed by "Bridesmaids" to get the desired effect.

What are your favorite and least favorite movies about mean girls? Share your suggestions and reviews in the comments.