Movies

DVD review: Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar

If you are looking for a new DVD for your nights in, Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar, a Lionsgate production, might be the right choice as it is filled with my favourite ingredients for a relaxing comedy: Gags, romance, friendship and a villain’s evil plot. 

The story 
From the stars and writers of Bridesmaids (Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo) comes Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Middle-aged best friends Barb and Star embark on the adventure of a lifetime when they decide to leave their small town of Soft Rock, Nebraska, for the first time…ever, to go on a holiday to Vista Del Mar, Florida. They agree to try many excursions together, particularly an inflatable banana inner tube ride.
The adventures is everything but idyllic as the resort is about to be turned upside down by an eccentric villain named Sharon Gordon Fisherman is plotting against the resort where she lived as a child, and her pale white skin and sensitivity to the sun made her an outcast. 
 
Barb and Star encounter a depressed and handsome Edgar (Jamie Dornan) at the hotel bar and begin to bond with him. A night of drinking, partying, drug use, and sexual escapades as well as hilarious gags and misunderstandings between the three follow. I won’t spoil the rest…
 

The trailer

 
 
The verdict
 
Barb And Star is possibly one of the silliest slapstick comedy I have ever seen but yet I quite enjoyed it in a weird way. In these tragic times of forced isolation goofy gags, middle-aged women’s antics, and the sound of my own laughs coming thicker and faster by the minute was all I needed. If you had asked me whether I would enjoy such a movie before the pandemic, I would have said ’no’ but times have changed and I now say a loud and thick YES! 

Seeing these two having so much fun, it makes me nostalgic of the good times with my best friend. In fact I’d say every BBF type of girly friendship should be as bright and breezy as a pair of the pastel culottes Barb and Star love so much. I now know that I will plan a holiday like this with my BFF as soon as the Covid era is over. 

Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar is a must-watch for all those people who want to escape to a funny universe for a couple of hours. It made me laugh without thinking ‘what does this mean?’, ‘what’s the message behind this movie?’. 

Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar is available on DVD now and on Amazon Prime (if you pay extra to rent it).

 

London Mums’ rating: 6/10 

 

DVD Content 

The DVD includes fun special features such as a feature length audio commentary with director Josh Greenbaum, and writers and stars Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig.

A 10-minute behind the scenes featurette Barb and Star: Making Life a Little Brighter includes interviews with cast and crew. 

A short featurette Barb and Star: Casting in Paradise showcases the actors. 

Bloopers and deleted scenes feature clips showing Jamie Dornan and Michael Hitchcock (who plays the hotel manager) that were cut from the final edit. 

Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar Fashion Show is a 90 second catwalk clip on a beach. 

Reason #497 Why We’re Friendsis a 10-minute interview with Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig discussing the making of the film including more behind the scenes clips.

About author

Articles

Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://new.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
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