‘Sisters’ overstays its welcome on screen
January 15, 2016
Coming together for another movie, Saturday Night Live comedians Amy Poehler and Tina Fey star in the new “Sisters.” Not to be confused with their past chick flick “Baby Mama,” the two played roles that are much cruder than most are used to. Though the film did provide laughs, the space between them and the length of the movie itself became its downfall.
Kate, played by Fey, and Maura, played by Poehler, were a pair of sisters headed in different directions in life. Kate, a single mom, was the loose-cannon type while Maura, a new divorcée, was much more reserved. Throughout the film, it became clear that Maura was easily influenced by her sister. Upon failing to convince their parents not to sell their childhood home, Kate convinced Maura to throw one last wild party in the house to relive their glory days.
Like usual, Fey and Poehler have fantastic chemistry. They work well with each other, aren’t afraid to look stupid and have solid comedic performances both as a pair and individually. Not holding back the profanities or vulgarities, the two do a solid job looking innocent and sweet yet surprising everyone with their vocabulary.
At nearly two hours long, the movie began to lose its sense of amusement and the jokes started to bring more cringes than smiles.
Taking up nearly half the movie by itself, the party scene got out of hand and started to seem more like an improvisation session than a script. The gags seemed a little forced and the jokes were hard to laugh at.
The movie overall was genuinely funny; incorporating stars like Maya Rudolph and John Cena helped bring the movie back when it started drifting.
The downside of the film was really just the length. Cut down to 90 minutes, this movie could have compared to “Bridesmaids,” but drawing out the party scene for jokes that didn’t hit home was the setback. With the talent involved, “Sisters” could have been hilarious, and though it was at times, it didn’t quite live up to expectations.