★★★☆
For fans of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, the wait for a new film following their triumphant Golden Globes appearances has been a long one. Sisters sees the comedy duo team up with director Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect) and former Saturday Night Live collaborator Paula Pell, who wrote the screenplay.
Subverting the roles they played in 2008’s Baby Mama, Fey and Poehler appear as the chalk-and-cheese Ellis sisters. Fey is the garish Kate, a reformed party animal and single mother living precariously from one pay cheque to the next, while Poehler is Maura, a dependable and reliable nurse and recent divorcee – the do-gooder and community-minded sister who often finds herself as the non-drinking “designated mum” on party nights.
Their anxiety is triggered when their parents – played wonderfully by James Brolin and Dianne Wiest – shock the pair by announcing they are selling the family home and downsizing to a retirement condo to enjoy a more affluent lifestyle. The sisters have just one week to claim their high school mementos before they go out with the garbage collection. Now on the cusp of middle age, they vow to throw the ultimate house party; one that will put a satisfying exclamation point on their long-lost youth.
As ever, Fey and Poehler are wonderful playing off each other’s subtle nuances. Their chemistry has clearly endured since their first meeting at an improv class in Chicago in the early ’90s. Part Animal House, part American Pie, Sisters does follow a well-worn path through insecurity, self-identity and the traumas of reunions – albeit with some charmingly clever detours.
Too often though, the film reverts to becoming formulaic and many of the characters feel underdeveloped – almost as if they’ve been lifted from Pell’s sketch-writing career, which is disappointing for a film starring two of Hollywood’s brightest comedic minds. Unfortunately, the script only sporadically allows Fey and Poehler to push the envelope – even Maya Rudolph is criminally underutilised as the snobbish Brinda.
While Sisters is a valiant effort that delivers some tremendous laughs in patches, you get the sense that what might have been needed was a screenplay written by its stars.
Sistersopens incinemas Thursday January 7.
