Review of Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021) by Rmurray847 — 10 Aug 2023

Since the start of the pandemic, there really haven't been too many straight up comedies. Lots of horror, plenty of indie movies (including some with a "comedic" tough) and loads of dramas. But good, fun, "Friday night date night" comedies? Not so much. So along comes BARB AND STAR..., and clearly this movie is not aiming for awards-show glory. Watch the trailer...if what you see amuses you, watch the film. It makes a delightful, bubbly, utterly silly diversion. I DEEPLY appreciate the film for giving me a 100 minute diversion that required me to make no intellectual investment and had two stars that clearly were quite invested in their work. It's a delight to look at, and I felt darn good after watching it. 4.5 stars!!!

BUT, now, two days later, I have to be honest. I was so starved to see a silly comedy, I completely overlooked the fact that much of this movie is a mess. 2.5 stars in a non-COVID world. So let's call it 3.5.

I know, I know...I'm a total party pooper and is it fair to rate the film this way? I've rated all other films I've ever reviewed based on how they struck me when watching. Is it right that I give this one a big asterisk for cheering me up during a dark time? I don't know...but I have to say that the disconnect between my experience watching it and my experience thinking about it later makes me think that I DO need to review based on a bit of reflection.

So, it tells the story of Barb & Star, who live (if memory serves) somewhere in Nebraska, and have roomed together for years, ever since divorces/widowhood. (Their "hometown" scenes were actually filmed in Socorro, NM...which is about 75 minutes down the road from me.) They never desire to move much outside their safe little community, and working at their furniture store. They are frivolous characters, and they are totally fine with that. A shakeup happens in their lives though, and they take the advice of a friend and spring for a vacation in Vista del Mar, Florida, at a painfully brightly colored resort, just to try something new and have a good time. Day One, they meet a handsome, younger Irish man at the bar (Jamie Dornan) who is having a bad day, already drunk, and the 3 have quite a night together. One that most people might have some regrets about the next day. But their relationships blossom from there, in fun but silly ways.

But in the midst of this frivolity is a plot to kill the citizens of Vista del Mar by a super-villain who lives in a lair! (Her primary henchman is Jamie Dornan!) So the two plots converge in ways that take this film from silly to absolutely ridiculous, but not always in a good way.

I was totally fine with the silliness (even though Dornan, game as he is, just never quite seems to capture the tone. His solo song was a highlight of the film, but the rest of the time, I was wishing for a more comedically adept actor). The bright colors. The silly dialogue. The visual jokes. All fine. But then the idea of taking this frothy film, and forcing a "spy plot" onto it only ends up being funny on paper. The actual viewing of the last 15 minutes or so of the film is really deeply unfunny, and ham-fisted and just not interesting. I think they could have taken the basic characters of Barb and Star and put them into a silly film that DIDN'T go off the rails, and would have achieved something really memorable.

Anyway, if you, like me, are craving a film that is set in a world not at all like our own (in the silliest possible way), you should enjoy this film. If you want a "smart" movie...please look elsewhere! Thank you, BARB AND STAR, for cheering me up for an evening. It was kinda like eating a whole box of chocolates, though...I felt some regret the next day.