Official Synopsis
Romy and Michele are carefree party girls who reinvent themselves for their 10-year high school reunion. Their plan is working perfectly until a former classmate (Janeane Garofalo) blabs their real story to everyone. But Romy and Michele have one more big surprise up their sleeves.
This movie is pure fun, and it isn’t meant to be taken seriously. I always imagine serious critics trying to find the art in this film, but there is none… well, at least the art they’re use to seeing. If you haven’t seen the film, it’s not difficult to grasp. Two oddballs from high school, Romy and Michele, are going to their high school reunion. Their memories of high school are simple (no, there’s more here — keep reading, it’s not the end of the sentence), they were picked on for being different not having a ‘group’ to fit into. A lot of people had this happen to them in high school, which makes Romy and Michele’s situation in the film completely plausible. The separation factor between audience and the duo on screen is the fact that girls are just really out of this world different. They dress differently, they talk differently and they act differently. All of it is in a dumb way.
Having said that, the ‘dumb way’ isn’t what you would expect. These girls surely come off as loopy, but their actions are always with good intentions. They understand at all times what they have to do to get by, though sometimes it’s not conventional. Director David Mirkin and writer Robin Schiff carefully crafted these two innocent characters, so that the audience will think ‘gosh, they’re just plain dumb’, but also at the same time cheer for them to win out in the end. It’s an even balance of comedy and well deserved redemption. You can laugh at these ladies, and you will clap for them by the end for winning.
I’m sure this is what confused the critics.
The film flows as wistfully as Romy and Michele in the midst of their reunion. It doesn’t have much of a care in the world, and it works out in the end somehow. This film is more of a one-act play then a typical three-act epic. It says who the leading ladies are, what they want to accomplish and it succeeds in getting there. There’s no roller coaster ride, nothing of the sorts. It’s a simple one hill climb that leads to a fun downhill coast (no loops). Again, this might be offbeat for some critics to handle, but the simplistic theme of this film is a reoccurring theme with every element. The antagonists are simple, the protagonist are simple, the plot is simple; everything is simple.
To add to the fun, simplicity of the film is the fantastic acting from Mira Sorvino (what happened to her?), Lisa Kudrow, Alan Cumming and Janeane Garofalo. Garofalo in particular is the joy of the film (though her character Heather is far from ‘joy’). She comes in with a chip on her shoulder, demands the screen time and then walks off powerfully… and hilariously. She secretly steals the show. All of these personalities seemed to go into the film understanding what the movie is about. They made their characters a bit outlandish and fit perfectly into the world of Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. They all did a good job.
So, is this the best comedy in the world? Not at all, but it’s lighthearted with good intentions. It is in no way representative of how people actually are in the real world, but it does represent the kind of mental torture high school kids can go through. It isn’t too serious in that message, but it’s serious enough to leave you cheering for Romy and Michele by the end of the film.
Give it a go, you may like Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.
As for the Blu-ray, if you can stand the outlandishly shiny clothing the pair of ladies wear then you can see how good the Blu-ray transfer of this film was. It’s not the cleanest transfer, as there is some graininess, mostly in the daylight shots, but it certainly shines when it comes to pink, red, blue and yellow. There is no color banding or compression issues with this transfer. It’s a pretty good Blu-ray as a whole.
The audio, which features a solid soundtrack, comes to you in 5.1 DTS-HD. The aspect ratio of the film is 1.78:1.
As for the features, you get a production featurette, but nothing else. I think I would have given my right arm to hear some commentary on this film. Any commentary from actors, director or writer would have sufficed. Alas, it was not to be, nor a gag reel. This is a film that deserved those two things.