I’m so excited for tonight’s big film premiere! Of course, I’m talking about Sisters. The Tina Fey/Amy Poehler comedy is finally in theaters after many months of breathless speculation and feminist fantasizing. And the good news is—it’s totally entertaining and definitely worth the wait. The film centers on the Ellis sisters (Fey and Poehler), two 30-something sibs tasked with cleaning out their shared childhood bedroom before their parents sell the family home. Bummed out and nostalgic, the pair decides to drown out their sorrows with one last raging party and predictably (but hilariously), things get way, way, way out of hand.
Poehler’s uptight character Maura evokes a less-responsible Leslie Knope, while Fey’s bad girl, big sister Kate is surprisingly sultry. The rest of the cast is artfully rounded out by Saturday Night Live all-stars—including Maya Rudolph, Bobby Moynihan, Rachel Dratch, Kate McKinnon, and Chris Parnell—alongside familiar faces from Parks and Rec and 30 Rock. Screenwriter Paula Pell (also from SNL) is most successful in the scenes where Maura and Kate are reminiscing about their ’90s high school hijinks. When the comedy veers from clever writing to wackier physical gags, the jokes don’t always land, but these moments don’t detract from the overall success of the film. Sisters, like Bridesmaids before it, is a welcome reminder that when world-class women get a chance to helm a big-budget comedy, everybody wins.
