Raunchy girls trip movies have been stretched to every niche, sometimes delivering fun viewing experiences that don’t always take themselves too seriously. But a thin line exists between light-hearted and overdone. Jocelyn Moorhouse’s The Fabulous Four takes on more of the latter in an albeit promising story of four lifelong friends who come together to attend a summer wedding in Key West.
The fabulous four in question—Marilyn (Bette Midler), Lou (Susan Sarandon), Alice (Megan Mullally) and Kitty (Sheryl Lee Ralph)—met in college and eventually went on to pursue separate careers and adventures in romance post-graduation. Now, after mourning the loss of her late husband of 40 years, Marilyn impulsively gets engaged. Soon after, she sets the date for her destination beach wedding, asking Alice and Kitty to attend. Lou, having had a falling out with Marilyn in their college years, is persuaded to come under false pretenses, and the three make the journey to Florida to surprise the bride for her big day.
Issues in the development of Marilyn and Lou’s friendship take a toll on the plot, making it particularly frustrating to see the treatment of Lou by the other women. While in college, Marilyn started dating a man Lou had been seeing, and the two eventually got married. Until now, Lou and Marilyn haven’t spoken. At the bachelorette party, the women explain to another bridal party that an apology was never extended to Lou, and this is where some guilt begins to set in for Marilyn (although most of the pressure remains on Lou’s conscience throughout the trip with no clear reason). Despite there being no attempt from Marilyn to mend their friendship, Lou continues to be handed the role of the uptight, career-focused friend who holds grudges. She’s advised by Alice and Kitty to let bygones be bygones, essentially in an attempt to perpetuate a friendship-over-romance message, but there simply isn’t enough in the script to support this resolution, which leaves their conflict feeling misdirected.
The humor in this R-rated title falls flat more often than not and can mostly be characterized by cheap phallic references and the occasional usage of sex toys as weapons. At best, these are all cute attempts at putting the movie’s revered female cast in strange situations, but there isn’t much that’s shocking about it past them trying edibles or getting a lap dance at the bachelorette party. What seemed to be a promising upbeat addition to the female buddy comedy remains mostly lackluster for the duration of its runtime. Ralph, who has received critical recognition for her work on Abbott Elementary, feels particularly underused, and it often feels like the cast is confined to a script that is too wholesome for its own good.
Even with a dream cast and all the ingredients for a fun summer comedy, The Fabulous Four needs more than the occasional penis joke to keep it afloat. While the film is certainly not trying to be anything more than a silly female-centered comedy, it lacks the humor to support its strong cast, more in favor of a plot that gives little to support its message of female empowerment. Even the unprovoked musical number performed at the movie’s end doesn’t do much to save this less than fabulous title.
Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street Media
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