You Again opens at Ridgefield High School, circa 2002. Marni (Kristen Bell) is the school dork that gets picked on by most pf the student body especially J.J. (Odette Yustman), a popular cheerleader that seems to derive a sadistic pleasure out of tormenting the nerdy girl.
Fast forward to present day where Marni is doing very well in her public relations career. Her braces are gone, her acne is cleared up and she no longer rocks $8 dollar haircuts. Marni is on her way back home to attend the wedding of her brother, Will (James Wolk). According to Marni’s mother, Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis), Will is marrying a girl named Joanna. When Gail tells Marni that Joanna attended the same high school the same year as Marni and Will, Marni wracks her brain to figure out who Joanna is. It turns out that Joanna is actually Marni’s collegiate tormentor, J.J. Now Marni struggles with the decision to either let the past remain in the past or take this juicy opportunity to get revenge on the girl that made her high school years into high school hell.
To make matters worse (well, worse for them but hilarious for us) it turns out Joanna’s Aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver) and Marni and Will’s mom, Gail, have some unsettled high school rivalry of their own to deal with. It’s a double feature grudge match as Marni and Gail square off against Joanna and Ramona.
Also featuring Betty White as Marni’s grandmother, “Bunny”.
For me, You Again had so much going for it. Okay, for starters, the cast is sensational. Veteran pros Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Betty White, and Victor Garber give the film an unshakeable foundation with flawless comic timing and endearing characterizations. The “new kids” like Kristen Bell and Odette Yustman are just as attractive and witty as their senior peers. And as good as the principle cast was I would actually award the “Stand-Out Performance” honor to Kyle Bornheimer who plays Joanna’s former beau, “Tim”. Mr. Bornheimer’s emotionally unstable and slightly obsessed ex-boyfriend is a true scene stealer.
One major cast tidbit I must divulge is that there are notable appearances from Reginald VelJohnson, Patrick Duffy and Christine Lakin. ABC’s TGIF (Thank God It’s Funny) fans should remember that Mr. VelJohnson played the patriarch, “Carl Winslow”, on Family Matters (aka The Steve Urkel Show, lol. Ran from 1989 to 1997 on ABC and 1997 to 1998 on CBS). Mr. Duffy played the patriarch, “Frank Lambert”, on another TGIF series called Step By Step (ran from 1991 to 1997 on ABC, 1997 to 1998 on CBS) that was created by the same guys who made Family Matters. Ms. Lakin played Frank’s tomboy daughter, “Al”. According to IMDB (Internet Movie Database) Staci Keanan is also in You Again somewhere though I’m sorry to say that if she was I didn’t recognize her. Ms. Keanan played Frank’s eldest daughter by marriage, “Dana”, on Step By Step. Forgive my gushing on this but I used to watch both of those shows regularly so to see past cast members in a feature film and in the same cast was a big thrill for me. Plus, there’s also a quick cameo from someone that looks very much like Catherine Bach (“Daisy Duke” from Dukes Of Hazzard
).Yet another familiar face makes a surprise entrance but all I can tell you is that Grandma Bunny isn’t completely immune to the high school reunion bug her family has been smacked with.
The story is a relatable theme about how our pasts can determine our futures. Though, in the case of You Again it’s more about how a person’s past can come back to bite him/her on the butt.
The film obviously has Marni as the sympathetic character that clearly deserves justice and our encouragement to stare Joanna down until the evil cheerleader begs for forgiveness. However, when we meet present day Joanna she seems to be a completely changed female. The self-absorbed “mean girl” is now a nurse, a volunteer at a homeless shelter and an operator at a suicide hotline. Marni’s vengeance plot is then complicated by the genuine possibility that the bully may have learned the error of her ways and transformed into a compassionate human being. I loved the tension between Marni and the new and improved Joanna because it’s Marni thinking this girl is too good to be true. I was wondering along with Marni if and when the real Joanna would suddenly jump from the bushes and shove Marni’s face into the nearest toilet.
The other fight on the card has Gail and Ramona dealing with their unsettled history. The true story of their grudge isn’t revealed until later in the film but it’s fun to guess who was the tormentor and who was the “tormentee” and what was the terrible incident that split the bond between these former BFFs?
What’s most important about You Again is that it made me laugh, it made my friend laugh and it made the rest of the audience laugh. You Again was a highly enjoyable comedy with some outrageous moments that would’ve had me rolling on the floor if I wasn’t at a public theater. Nothing against the spectacular ushers that do their best to keep the cineplex clean but ain’t no way I’m going to be laying on a movie theater floor. I know what’s down there. Heck, I put some of it down there. Anyway, I thought You Again was a chuckle and a half. The best parts, of course, are the showdowns between the warring women. One of the wildest scenes takes place during a dance rehearsal for the wedding. Marni and Joanna get jiggy with it while Gail and Ramona try to out-Mambo each other. This culminates in Gail trying to recreate that iconic flying lift from Dirty Dancing (1987) with disastrous yet amusing results.
I can’t say that You Again is completely original. There are some scenes in the film that seem “inspired” by past like-minded comedies. But I liked the concept of feuding former high school students with axes to grind and I liked that there are two different kinds of past skeletons that are put on display. There’s the catty match between the nerdy Marni and the beauty queen Joanna. And then there’s the alternate situation between Gail and Ramona; two former best friends that will try to make up for the sake of the kids but it won’t be as simple as a hug and handshake.
You Again is also quite family friendly family. Amazingly, the "B" word was never uttered though I could sense the ladies just straining to use any other derrogatory term but that one. If I had one complaint it would be that there wasn't enough of Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver. By themselves it was cool but when they were together it is heavenly magic. It guess it would be equivalent to Bono and Bruce Springsteen doing a tour together. "Ripley" and "Laurie Strode" in the same movie together? Fantabulous!
But again, I say, the important thing about a comedy is that it makes me laugh and, doggone it, You Again did what was advertised so I feel that my money was well spent on this picture. Definitely one of those films you want to see with your chums so you can all spray Pepsi out of your nostrils together.
Rhymes With: Easy A (2010), The Proposal (2009), Step Brothers (2008), Julie & Julia (2009), Bringing Down The House (2003), 13 Going On 30 (2004), Death Becomes Her (1992), Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion (1997)
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