Girl Most Likely

Being a fan of Kristin Wiig, I was excited for this movie. Then it was barely marketed, quietly released, poorly reviewed, and flopped. I don't understand.

Kristin Wiig plays Imogene, a neurotic and insecure woman unsuccessfully trying to make it as a writer in NYC. The character is very similar to the one she played in Bridesmaids....which is OK with me. I was more than happy to spend more time with this woman.

After faking a suicide attempt to get her ex boyfriend's attention, Imogene winds up in the hospital. She is subsequently released to the custody of her mother played by Annette Bening who is simply terrific playing a character who reminded me of the Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Imogene returning to the tacky and dysfunctional home in New Jersey where she grew up makes for the comedy here. There are many laugh out loud moments. Living in the house is her mother's boyfriend George Boosh! (Matt Dillon) who claims to work for the CIA, her somewhat mentally challenged but sweet younger brother, and a border played by a very appealing Darren Criss whom Imogene develops an interest in.

There may be a bit too much going on in this film. A subplot of Imogene trying to find her biological father doesn't do too much to move the story along. The ending also goes way over the top. But ultimately, Kristin Wiig makes Imogene a flawed yet lovable character who we root for. I left the theater in a great mood.

I've never reviewed a movie here before, but I'm doing it because most of what I've seen online and in my local paper were at best tepid, if not downright negative. Frankly, it is a much better comedy of manners than "Bridesmaids" was-- that one relied far too heavily on the Judd Apatow gross-out factor. (As if proving that women could be as stupid as men is some kind of feminist triumph.) Wiig's skill-- and the terrific Annette Bening's, as well-- is to tread the fine line between comic sketch exaggeration and the rueful comedy in the human condition. One of the better comedies I've seen in awhile, and deserves spreading the good word.

What a like about this film is the purity of it, the classic tale of ambition over happiness. I do like a story of someone having to go back to their roots to find out who they are and who they wanted to be. Looking back at the path you've taken and how it varied off course from just thinking the grass is greener over here because these people seemed to have it all. When in fact deep down they dont have happiness, you could have all the money in the world but if your not happy then what is the point. It's a journey of self discovery that we all have to take now and again and I loved the fact in this film her brother who seems to be slightly slower than everyone else who might be on the autism spectrum knew his sister was on that journey and knew she'd come home, so they can go look for the elephant which seems to be the start of all the drama. Any film, filmed in New York will always put a smile on my face for biased reasons as New York is special to me so loved the back drop of the city. All in all beautiful made film beautiful story.

"Girl Most Likely" is Imogene (Kristen Wiig); a girl once likely to become the next big playwright in New York City, now she's desperately hanging on to the upper-class lifestyle convinced that it's all about who you know, where you live, and who you are with. A failed attempt of a fake suicide attempt sends Imogene back where she came from. All the way to New Jersey.

It's an indie film with a fairly minimal distribution, which generally means the film is going to try to survive on quirky comedy. Luckily, Wiig has had a decade's worth of experience doing quirky comedy on "Saturday Night Live". Also, luckily the film is more than just a quirky indie comedy. It's very much a character study, and a bit of a quarter- life crisis dramedy thrown in for good measure. Imogene doesn't know herself very well. She once knew she was a good writer, now she just thinks she's a good writer. She once knew she was better than the family she came from, now she just thinks she's better. She also thinks her life will be better if she gets to know her great and successful father whom she doesn't know.

Her home life features comedy from her weird and bizarre mother, Zelda, her weirder and more bizarre new-step-father-like figure, George, and her weird but well-intentioned younger brother, Ralph. There's also a strange man sleeping in her bed.

This strange man is Lee (Darren Criss), who is actually not strange at all. He is a young man mired in a quarter-life crisis who has rented out her room as a place to stay. He represents the romantic angle of Imogene's attempt to get her life back on track, and was actually a very welcome addition to the movie. Lee was much more sane, understanding, and more aware of his place in life than any of the characters. He was exactly the type of guy who could keep Imogene more grounded with her distorted life views.

The comedy is sweet, although at times it can become to quirky to be all that funny. The writing is good, even though at times it can be a little too self-aware to be all the great. But "Girl Most Likely" is a fairly enjoyable journey of a girl who has completely lost her way in life. It focuses on family, ambition and ties it all up with quirky comedy.

I went to see this movie in Paris last night for a premiere, though it was called Imogene. I was inclined to go not because of the story line but that Kirsten Wiig and Darren Criss were doing a Q & A after the showing. That was worth seeing the movie in itself, but I was very pleased with the film.

It may not be a movie you want to spend $10 on a viewing at the cinema but it is very much worth seeing. The dialogue was well written, the characters you grew to care about very quickly. Though, Kirsten has done a movie where her life has gone out of control and she has to get back on her feet, i.e. Bridesmaids, this did feel different. Christopher Fitzgerald as Ralph did brilliantly and often steals whatever scene he's in. Darren Criss does a great job and proves he doesn't need to be typecast he has much more range than you've seen on Glee.

I highly recommend catching this movie at some point and for those who wait for DVD its worth renting for sure.