What happens when six middle-aged women escape to a cabin cut off from the world? No cell phone service or wifi, just wine and each other. Amy Poehler in her directional debut and Netflix come together to bring us the answer with their movie, “Wine Country.” When Abby, Rebecca, Catherine, Naomi, Val, and Jenny get together for the weekend to celebrate Rebecca’s 50th birthday, it’s a Saturday Night Live reunion. With some of the funniest ladies in television including Maya Rudolph, Paula Pell, Poehler herself, and Tina Fey, “Wine Country” proceeds to break the tradition of what a typical “girls’ weekend” is.
These ladies are you. They’re hard-working women who almost never see their best friends in life. Having been close for nearly their entire lives, it’s a wonder they haven’t suffered a petty spat tearing them apart. Using Rebecca’s birthday as the perfect excuse for the group to get together, Abby played by Amy Poehler pushes for everyone to come. With pushback and rearranging of schedules, they all somehow manage to make it work. What follows is a whirlwind of vulgar jokes, romance, hook-ups, mild man-bashing (poor Brian), bonding moments, and of course, wine.
While all that sounds fine in writing, what “Wine Country” lacks is any sort of “pizazz.” Despite the strong cast both on and off camera, it’s easy to find your mind wandering and your attention moving towards other things as the movie plays. Starting off interestingly enough, the visual components of the film aren’t the issue. It’s the writing itself, done by Amy Poehler, where the film is lacking. The comedy is the type of humor you would expect from any vulgar chick flicks, focusing largely on shock value. It’s easy enough to look past the crude humor, but the forced feel of modern-day issues are enough to make an audience cringe. Bringing us dead-end storylines such as millennial bashing, and poorly researched storylines such as MDMA micro-dosing, it’s hard to watch “Wine Country” without asking ‘why?’
That’s not to say “Wine Country” doesn’t have its moments. Thankfully the film focuses on more realistic issues such as exclusion issues, health issues, long-distance friendships, and midlife crisis. It’s refreshing to see that there’s still some hope for chick flicks yet, as they migrate away from focusing on women fighting over men. The film had a wild amount of girl power right from the beginning. Out of two male characters in “Wine Country” and one of them is played off as incompetent as well as consistently bashed throughout the movie. Even the main love story features two women. Throughout the entire film, the amount of estrogen is clear. Or lack of, as the ladies consistently remind you that they are no longer in their prime anymore.
From the casting and the movie choices to the in-film reminiscing “Wine Country” pushes the nostalgia feel. Poehler and the rest of the writers do a fine job connecting to their middle-aged audience through jokes, music choices, and anecdotal retellings. It certainly feels like a coming-of-age movie in a whole new way.
Despite an underwhelming ending, “Wine Country” is far from a write off. If you’re looking for a movie that’s easy to watch while still remaining entertaining, this film is a good choice. If you prefer a cleaner, more thought out humor with an intricate plot, it’s a good idea to watch something else. Perhaps with time Amy Poehler will branch out of her comedic pocket and explore less trashy humour.
