Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Weekend Watch is here for you. Every Friday we’re going to recommend the best of what’s new to rent on VOD or stream for free. It’s your weekend; allow us to make it better.
What to Stream This Weekend
Movie: Girls Trip
Director: Malcolm Lee
Starring: Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tiffany Haddish
Available on: Amazon Video and iTunes
We should be more appreciative of movies that are the very best at being what they are. Girls Trip is never reaching for more than it can grasp: it’s a fun, silly, sometimes shockingly vulgar comedy about four college friends on a weekend reunion in New Orleans. You’d call this a familiar trope if not for the fact that the protagonists are all black women. Thanks to the underrepresentation in Hollywood, we don’t see enough movies where black women get to take center stage all by themselves, so the fact that this movie gives Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tiffany Haddish a platform to do their thing, that’s a victory in and of itself. In a movie that is wall-to-wall fun and celebrates female friendship and black female excellence (even when zip-line mishaps and full bladders lead to dire and graphic consequences), it’s even better.
The setup: Ryan (Hall) is a famous author and beloved personality; Sasha (Latifah) is a Wendy Williams-esque gossip maven; Lisa (Pinkett Smith) used to be fun but is not a divorced mom who can’t let loose; and Dina (Haddish) keeps drugs up her booty hole when partaking in air travel.
All four women were closer than close in college, but the last few years have found fewer and fewer opportunities for them to spend time with each other. You know this story! But damned if director Malcolm Lee — who should be more of a thing, if for The Best Man Holiday and Undercover Brother alone — doesn’t deliver this familiar tale with a lot of panache, a recognition of the social dynamics at play both on screen and off, and a refreshing faith in his cast. Regina Hall continues to be one of the most underrated actresses in Hollywood, and she’s a good anchor for the film. Her story mostly revolves around her cheating husband (Luke Cage‘s Mike Colter) and how her friends rally around her, but she’s as reliable a center to all the other spokes of this wheel as you can ask for.
Jade Pinkett Smith mostly reminds you how you wish Jada Pinkett Smith would work more often and get more complex roles. She’s a bit too good for this thankless scold role in the film’s first half, but it’s all a setup for her to let loose, which is such a welcome development, you want to stand up and applaud. And she provides a fantastic foil for Haddish’s Dina, who steals every single scene she’s in. Dina’s a hothead, a lush, and a party monster, but Haddish manages to slay every line reading and comedic set piece without ever losing sight of Dina’s role as her friend group’s avenging angel. The last time I saw a supporting actress barnstorm a comedy like Haddish does here was Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids. That performance got a well-deserved Oscar nomination, a rare instance of the Academy recognizing broad comedy and the Academy recognizing a non-superstar actress from outside Hollywood’s narrowy “willowy ingenue” parameters. There is NO REASON why Tiffany Haddish shouldn’t be the beneficiary of a similar push. This is a performance that makes you realize you’re watching a star being formed right in front of you, and massively crowd-pleasing to boot. And do not tell me that Haddish’s character peeing from a zipline disqualifies her with the oft-stuffy Academy, because Melissa McCarthy was shitting in a sink in Bridesmaids. Let’s make this happen, America.
Yet while Haddish’s performance towers over the rest of the film, there is a lot to like elsewhere. There’s an energy to it that, during the film’s best moments, feels so organic that the best scenes sneak up on you. You know I am always up for a dance break in a movie, and right now, the after-hours club dance-off to Missy Elliott ranks up there with the Claws “Lady Marmelade” for Best Dance Break of 2017. It’s like Jada showed up to work one day with stories from the Magic Mike XXL set, and everybody started getting ideas. It’s the most delightfully indulgent moment in a delightful film, and I wish it lasted twice as long. And just when you think Malcolm Lee is out of surprises? A Set It Off callback for Pinkett and Latifah.
I was especially into the more-clever-than-it-seems use of cameos in the film. The plot brings the film’s characters to an “Essence Expo,” and the celebration of black women is more than appropriate. And whether it’s Ava DuVernay giving a talk, Carla Hall putting on a cooking expo, or Iyanla Vanzant getting up in Sasha’s face, it’s all part of the celebratory environment of the film. This is the best time you’re going to have all weekend.
