By Chris Minitelli
Staff Writer
There are countless movies out that tell the story of characters who venture into the real world on their own but ultimately end up right back at home. “Girl Most Likely,” which was just added to Netflix’s streaming service, tells a comedic story just like this.
The film, starring Kristen Wiig, Annette Bening, Matt Dillon and Darren Criss, tells the story of Imogene, played by Wiig, who is a promising playwright living in New York City. Imogene goes through a difficult breakup and then faces rejection from the unwelcoming upper-class society where she never truly fit in. In an attempt to get her boyfriend back, Imogene fakes an attempt at committing suicide.
After this troubling series of events, she must to go back to the place she has avoided for years — home. There, Imogene learns about different hardships her family members have faced and learns things she never knew about them. All of this helps her learn more about herself and what she truly wants in life.
While I had very high expectations for “Girl Most Likely,” it failed to meet many of them. Although this movie has some relatively funny moments, most of the jokes fell flat. This film largely takes place in Ocean City, N.J., so naturally there were Jersey jokes galore. While I am one who can laugh at a joke about New Jersey, the writers of “Girl Most Likely” tried way too hard to add them in. These were not the only jokes that missed the mark. The writing in general was extremely lacking. The writers failed to really develop any of the story line, with very little character development and quite predictable situations and outcomes.
Not only was the writing lackluster, but the acting was also rather unimpressive. Although the cast list for “Girl Most Likely” looks impressive, the actors seemed to flop. There was very little chemistry between any of the cast, which makes it difficult to believe anything they do or say. Along with this, the cast’s comedic timing seems to be very off, too. In particular, while Wiig usually delivers very strong and hilarious performances in her work, she seems to be off in this film, along with the rest of the cast and their attempts at New Jersey accents. A big reason why I think these established actors did not flourish in their roles is the poor writing of the script. Actors can only do so much with a script that is lacking originality.
Ultimately, I was disappointed with “Girl Most Likely.” I had high expectations for it as soon as I saw a trailer, but it did not even come close to meeting them. With unimpressive and poor performances, and even worse writing, “Girl Most Likely” is definitely a movie that these notable actors, and I, will try to forget.
