Movie Review: 'You Again'

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD

I went into YOU AGAIN knowing that it could swing one of two ways: It could either be a funny, light movie…or it could be just mind-numbingly stupid. I was, despite my better judgement, banking on the first one. I think it was the girl in me who craved some “no thinking required” fun chick flick that had any hope at all, but after the first 20 minutes, that girl, that part of me that was hoping for a cute movie along the lines of NEVER BEEN KISSED…she realized what a gullible dumb-ass she truly is. It’s not just that YOU AGAIN isn’t funny (though it had its moments)…it’s whole message totally didn’t get across to me, as I suspect it wouldn’t to any other person who is capable of thinking for themselves instead of just buying everything the movie is trying to sell them.

When Marni (Kristen Bell) realizes that her brother is about to marry Joanna (Odette Yustman), the girl who bullied her all throughout high school, her life is turned upside down…as is her mother’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) when she realizes that Joanna’s Aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver) is the same girl that she had problems with in high school way back when. The premise was enough to create a funny movie…I get the idea that even after growing out of whatever awkward phase you experienced in high school and even after becoming a successful adult, that old grudges die hard. The problem is that instead of actually incorporating jokes that are related to the premise, the movie decided to just run wild with the whole “everything’s going downhill” thing. Kristen Bell falls into an ant pile so now it looks like she has acne again. Ha ha. Kristen Bell accidentally hurts a cute guy…ha ha ha…you get my drift. But I could have even lived with that, if it were not for the end result. What I had the hardest time wrapping my head around was the theme of forgiveness. Yes, I understand that it’s a PG Disney movie and that it needs to end on a positive, heartwarming note. But here’s reality: No one would forgive a girl who not only made her life hell in high school, but who made her life hell AND THEN pretended not to remember any of it as she pushed her way into her family while continuing on with her bitchy tendencies upon their reunion. No, not okay. I repeat, NOT OKAY. Forgiveness is only worthy of people who actually deserve it. You may argue that in the end, Joanna showed that she was truly sorry for the way she behaved. But in actuality, the only time she showed any remorse was when she was faced with the possibility of not getting what she wanted, which was to marry Marni’s brother. Throughout the film they make a couple of references to the fact that Joanna’s parents died after high school in order to garner sympathy for her character. I’m sorry, but the writers needed to do a helluva lot better than that. As insensitive as it may sound, plenty of people have experienced the same tragedy and are not the spawn of Satan. It also didn’t help that Odette Yustman played the character of Joanna with such an overdone flare that after a while I started to get seriously annoyed with that squinty-eyed “I’m superior” look she had plastered on her face 90% of the movie.

With the exception of some clever lines and funny scenes (most notably one involving Marni’s father who blindfolds himself before every meal as a dieting technique), wonderful performances from Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver, and some of what the movie had to say about the importance of self-confidence, YOU AGAIN is a kid’s movie through and through. I’ve never used that phrase in a derogatory manner before (and why would I? I love kid’s movies), but this movie calls for it. Kids can often find a new favorite movie and gut-splitting laughs in watching people fall over and get kicked in the face constantly…and that’s totally fine. But I’ve gotten to that age where I need just the smallest amount of substance to go with my “watching people get hurt” slapstick. And as much as YOU AGAIN tried to create the illusion that that substance was there, in truth, all there was was a contrived ending that felt both insincere and unsatisfying.

Rating: C-