- Director: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
- Screenplay: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
- Producer: Suzanne Todd, John Friedberg
- Cast: Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Michelle Buteau, Anna Faris, Adam Demos
- Cinematography: Danny Ruhlmann
- Editing: James Thomas, Delaney Del Vecchio
- Score: Philip White
- Genre: Comedy
- Runtime: 97 minutes
Three frazzled friends – Jane (Leslie Mann), Coco (Michelle Buteau) and Sophie (Anna Faris) – escape the shackles of domesticity for a weekend at a luxury spa. With ex-spouses, kids and stressful jobs swamping their lives, they deserve some time away from home to unwind. The trio neglect to invite the fourth member of their girl squad, Mel, a rowdy Australian, knowing she’ll obliterate their prospective peace of mind. Every group has a trainwreck, the person who is a magnet for trouble and is the embodiment of chaos. Someone who rubs you up the wrong way. Mel (Isla Fisher) fits this description. She’s as filthy as a mud bath. A guilty Sophie invites Mel behind her pals’ backs.
The purpose of a resort is to put people at ease. They relax, have a giggle and depart feeling renewed and refreshed. ‘Spa Weekend‘ doesn’t exactly do that. The laughs are more like chuckles but it does slow down for a deeper dive into the characters’ situations.
I felt Mel (with her bag full of dildos) could’ve ratcheted up the unruliness factor. Although with such a fun yet fundamentally two-dimensional character, there’s really nothing further to do in relation to progressing her story arc so she’s dropped in favour of other plots for the latter half of the movie. Without her presence, it turns into your generic female-fronted comedy vehicle.
Sometimes it feels as though the women are there for longer than a weekend. Check in if you want an airy couple of hours to take your mind off things.
My rating: 5 / 10
SilverScreen 