Year of Release: 2019
Director: Amy Poehler
Starring: Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer, Rachel Dratch, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey, Jason Schwartzman, Tina Fey, Jay Larson, Cherry Jones, Craig Cackowski, Greg Poehler
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
View Trailer
Synopsis and Review:
"Wine Country" is yet another Netflix exclusive release, this one in particular, having the privilege of being acclaimed actress/writer Amy Poehler's directorial debut. The film follows the story of a group of friends, all of whom get together in Napa to celebrate one of their birthdays. The person in particular, Rebecca, is about to turn 50. Abby who has arranged and organized the whole trip, secretly has lost her job, and every single one of the friends on the trip are going through some sort of self questioning in their own lives. As their trip progresses and they come face to face with a series of unexpected events/occurrences, what becomes more and more apparent is the friendship and love tying all these women together, something that has lasted since their younger adulthood, and has survived their hectic and filled lives.
"Wine Country" is a film that functions as a rehash of Lawrence Kasdan's "The Big Chill", but without the death of a friend being the catalyst that brings a group of close friends together. Instead, these women, come together to celebrate a milestone anniversary, while secretly each one of them is pondering decisions, dealing with insecurities and generally trying to figure out what path lies ahead in their lives. It's a film that lives mostly and primarily from the quality of the cast assembled, particularly with the presence of Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, all from SNL, and acclaimed actresses in their own right. They all share and have a familiarity and rapport between themselves, something which allows the film to feel breezy and effortless, but the script doesn't provide enough nuance to really bring these characters to life (each of their lives are pretty much summarized in quick cliches, and the main characters themselves, really required some further investment to be fully illustrated and realized). As is, the film is a funny sketch, with a really talented group of performers, all of whom have an opportunity to have fun, but it's also quickly forgettable and rather generic. Here's hoping the next directorial output from Amy Poehler has more of her incredible personality and talent.
"Wine Country" is a film that functions as a rehash of Lawrence Kasdan's "The Big Chill", but without the death of a friend being the catalyst that brings a group of close friends together. Instead, these women, come together to celebrate a milestone anniversary, while secretly each one of them is pondering decisions, dealing with insecurities and generally trying to figure out what path lies ahead in their lives. It's a film that lives mostly and primarily from the quality of the cast assembled, particularly with the presence of Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, all from SNL, and acclaimed actresses in their own right. They all share and have a familiarity and rapport between themselves, something which allows the film to feel breezy and effortless, but the script doesn't provide enough nuance to really bring these characters to life (each of their lives are pretty much summarized in quick cliches, and the main characters themselves, really required some further investment to be fully illustrated and realized). As is, the film is a funny sketch, with a really talented group of performers, all of whom have an opportunity to have fun, but it's also quickly forgettable and rather generic. Here's hoping the next directorial output from Amy Poehler has more of her incredible personality and talent.
0 comments:
Post a Comment