Blu-ray Combo Pack Review
You Again
Directed by: Andy Fickman Cast: Kristen Bell, Odette Yustman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Betty White Running Time: 1 hr 45 mins Rating: PG Due Out: February 8, 2011
PLOT: Marni (Bell) comes home for her brother's wedding, only to find out that he's marrying the girl (Yustman) who made high school a living hell for her.
WHO'S IT FOR? Kristen Bell fans will be glad to see her comedic talents on display. Otherwise, it's just your general, fluffy comedy about the perils of navigating high school, so high schoolers may get a kick out of it.
MOVIE: You Again is a rare breed of movie. It has all the makings of a decent comedy, with some exceptional female comediennes on hand, but it never seems to find its footing. I admit that this might be my own fault as much as it is the movie's. As a huge fan of Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, directed by the same director and also starring Kristen Bell, I was expecting something else than what You Again has to deliver.
One of the movie's faults is its PG rating. I know it sounds awful, but it did severely limit the direction that the movie could head in and the movie feels weaker for it. Furthermore, I don't know a single person who has lived through high school and would describe it as a PG experience. High school is an ugly time for all involved and You Again didn't even try to do it justice, but instead it played it for cheap laughs.
However, in the movie's defense, the cast performs ably with some less than stellar material. Kristen Bell is as magnetic and charismatic as ever, with a few notable exceptions when she's supposed to be out for revenge. Odette Yustman does the sweet doe eyes well, but is just as believable as a hellish high schooler. The biggest surprise for me was Jamie Lee Curtis. I've seen her do funny before, but her chemistry with Sigourney Weaver was a definite highlight of the film. Her talent for the physical bits was a pleasant surprise in a day and age where slapstick is under appreciated and underused.
In the end, You Again's faults are plenty, but it's not for a lack of trying. The comediennes on display are among the finest and they do what they can with the material that they're given, but there's something about the premise that feels uninspired. It had the potential to be bitterly funny, but instead it strikes out when it aims for the sweet storybook ending that you know it will be from the very beginning.
MOVIE SCORE: 5/10
EXTRAS
Following Fickman: On Set with the Director Ask the Cast Funny or Die Deleted Scenes (Additional Deleted Scenes on blu-ray) Blooper Dance Party