Here we go! The beginning of our more unhinged and less organized approach to movie reviews. We'll all likely see changes and transformations as we work through our thoughts and ideas, and as we do, we'll just be reviewing whatever movies I find that interest me. No rhyme or reason, no particular favored time period or release date, just whatever. Or maybe I will come up with a plan of action. Who knows? Who cares? It's my blog. But you're all welcome to come along for the ride.
Briefly, and Without Spoilers
And we're starting with Wine Country (2019), starring many female SNL alums, including Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, and Maya Rudolph.
The movie follows a group of old friends as they set out on a birthday trip for one of their own to Napa Valley. As they attempt to celebrate, the real world starts to creep in and stresses from home and tensions between the women bubble over.
Drink Wine and Make Merry (Spoilers Ahead!!!)
We'll start with a semi-helpful review portion. This is one of those SNL alum movies that the old casts like to do, and includes some of the best female performers to ever be part of the sketch show. It's a group we all know has great chemistry to begin with, so there's never any doubt it's going to be fun to watch them onscreen.
Wine Country is a slightly different vibe than you might be used to, though. On some levels, I think it's a little more serious. Maya Rudolph's storyline adds quite a bit of weight to the story, and overall there's less of a slapstick approach to the story. It's truly just a bunch of friends on a trip, whose long-repressed conflicts finally come to a head. Although there's still some physical comedy that's honestly hilarious.
I guess to me the conflicts seem very real. Sometimes you watch these movies and the conflict takes a back seat to the comedy. Like, at the end of the day, it's pretty petty. But Wine Country deals with conflicts that are a little more true to life, especially in terms of the things we stress about as we age, from illnesses to job security to plain old getting old. Because it's never too late to have a coming of age story.
I'm guessing it's not going to be for everyone. If you're looking for a tried and true SNL cast film, this may not be high on your list of favorites, but I thought it was a good time.
Just What I Needed
Okay, frankly, this movie was weirdly exactly what I needed without really knowing it. I had had a stressful week, with some personal issues that left me a little drained and anxious. I sat down to just watch a feel-good movie, and that's what I got. There's a good amount of comedy, and a good amount of friends having a good time together, which then transitioned into just enough emoting to get some of my pent-up feelings to release.
I know we're getting personal, but again, this is my blog.
For me, some of conflicts were very relatable and the first time Amy Poehler's character started to cry a bit, it just felt like a dam broke in my head and let me have my once-a-month meltdown. And then I cried a couple more times while laughing in between.
I'm not going to be that person that says this movie is for sure going to make you cry. I'm guessing lots of people will watch it and be completely fine. It just happened to push all the right buttons for me.
Cry Time Movies
Again, I'm not saying you'll cry. But I feel like a lot of people have these moments and these movies or songs or commercials where it's not really about how sad the movie or song or commercial is. It's more about what you're going through and what stressors you're dealing with. I think if you can hit close enough to home, you can get the tears to just start flowing.
Maybe you feel better, or maybe you have a couple more cries in you. But you get that thing, that storyline or that character, that just strikes right at what you're going through and allows you to process your feelings without having to confront some of the things you're stressing about.
Sometimes I can just feel it. I can feel I need to have that good cry before I can really move on with my day. And for me, I need a low-stakes Cry Time Movie. I'm not looking to cry at big issues, like death or violence or oppression. I just need to cry at resolvable issues, like a career that doesn't work out or interpersonal relationship arguments. Let me cry for 15 minutes and then start the movie again to dive into a silly scene.
Without really knowing it, that's exactly what I got with this film. A series of good cries and a happy ending.
Not Sad, V Fun
Having said all that, Wine Country isn't really a sad movie in any capacity. I just had a lot of feelings when I was watching it. If you want something fun and lowkey, this is your movie. There's a good chance you won't cry, but if you do, I feel you, fam.
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