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'You Again' review

A criminal misuse of major league talent

By Geoff Berkshire

Metromix
September 23, 2010

Critic's Rating:

Kristen Bell and Odette Yustman (Credit: Mark Fellman/Disney)

Jamie Lee Curtis, Kristen Bell and Betty White

You Again

Running time:: 105 minutes

Rated:: PG

Cast:

Kristen Bell -

Marni

Jamie Lee Curtis -

Gail

Sigourney Weaver -

Ramona

Odette Yustman -

Joanna

Victor Garber -

Mark

See full cast

Director:: Andy Fickman

Official Movie Web Site:: http://www.youagain-themovie.com/

Overall User Rating:: (6 ratings)

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High school nerd-turned-successful LA publicist Marni (Kristen Bell) is excited to head home for the wedding of her brother Will (James Wolk) until their mother, Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis), informs her that Will’s fiancé is Joanna (Odette Yustman), the mean girl who terrorized Marni as a teen. It’s not long before Gail also has high school history to confront with the surprise arrival of someone from her own past: Joanna’s aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver).

The buzz: A terrific cast—also including Victor Garber as Marni’s father, Betty White as her grandmother, and Kristin Chenoweth as an energetic wedding planner—is assembled under the direction of Andy Fickman, whose unimpressive credits include “She’s the Man,” “The Game Plan” and “Race to Witch Mountain.” But it’ll be worth it to see superb comic actresses (and former James Cameron leading ladies) Curtis and Weaver face off, right?

The verdict: It’s time to sentence Fickman to movie jail. Wasting this much talent just can’t go unpunished. Not that credited screenwriter Moe Jelline gives anyone anything to work with in her clunky plotting, lifeless jokes, forced sentimentality and flat characters. As the movie alternately bores and underwhelms, a creeping suspicion arises that the outtakes must have been more interesting than what’s actually on screen. The actors involved surely could’ve made up something a lot more fun than Marni constantly falling over and embarrassing herself, Gail and Ramona taking forever to confront each other, and Joanna acting menacing for no good reason. Meanwhile, White and Garber stand on the sidelines and Chenoweth can only do so much in a few minutes of screen time. On the positive side, everyone involved in this mess has been through and survived even worse. But let’s consider it a valuable lesson in being selective about material and the skill level of the director in charge. Like a bad high school memory, no one wants “You Again” coming back to haunt them in the future.

Did you know? Instead of spending money to see “You Again,” just watch the movie’s free FunnyorDie.com promotional video featuring Bell, Weaver, White and Yustman. It’s a little forced but a better use of their skills than anything in “You Again.” And it’s a lot shorter too.