Writer-director Whitney Cummings stars as no-nonsense neuroscientist Julia, whose research into the biochemistry of the female brain is illustrated by 3 couples: newlyweds Zoe (Cecily Strong) and Greg (Blake Griffin), whose career troubles seep into their relationship; Lisa (Sofia Vergara) and Steven (Deon Cole), who are looking to spice up their stuck-in-a-rut marriage; and Lexi (Lucy Punch) who can't help trying to change her boyfriend Adam (James Marsden).
Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors
This movie has a lot of thorns
Ornery Owl’s Review
Three out of five stars
This is one of those movies that’s supposed to be a witty observation of the battle of the sexes, but mostly it just makes me think that I wouldn’t want to be involved with any of these characters. In fairness, the women are equally as likely to be irritating and awful as the men.
Adam, Steven, and Zoe are okay. If I had to go on a date with someone, Adam and Stephen would be the most likely of the men to not leave me wanting to kill them. Since I’m straight, my date with Zoe would be strictly platonic.
Julia is irritating by continually wanting to prove that she’s not overly emotional like all the other females. Perhaps if she spent time with someone besides Abby, who is a drama queen, she’d have a less skewed view of females.
Julia decides to date Kevin for a meaningless hookup. To her surprise, he actually wants more than that.
I wouldn’t date Kevin because he’s passive-aggressive AF.
Lisa blows up her marriage with Steven because it isn’t exciting enough. Although the scene where Lisa and Steven take Molly is funny, you honestly don’t have to take Molly before deciding to get divorced. I think Lisa might be hard-pressed to find anyone else who can put up with her.
Lexi is incredibly annoying but becomes a sympathetic character for me after seeing her mother’s behavior. The scene is supposed to be amusing but I honestly don’t find it funny. People like this woman think nothing of turning their children neurotic and miserable by criticizing their every action.
Lexi is overly perfectionistic because she believes everything about her is flawed. As someone who grew up in a family where criticism was the norm and praise was in short supply, I understand Lexi better than I’d like to. It’s hard to believe now, but I used to be the kind of person who wouldn’t go to the grocery store without a full face of makeup and my hair done. At this point in my life, I haven’t used makeup in 25 years and doing my hair involves either a headband or a scrunchie.
Adam is a decent enough guy. Not much to say about him other than that.
Zoe is an independent spirit who enjoys working hard to achieve her dreams. She works for a company run by a sexist buffoon. She wants to start her own ad agency where bro culture hasn’t run rampant. I’m unsure what Zoe saw in Greg, a professional basketball player so insecure in his manhood that he takes stupid advice from his idiot trainer on how women should be treated. He’s also possessive and starts fights with any man Zoe hires to keep the household running smoothly.
I honestly would have been on the horn to the best divorce lawyer money could buy with the actions Greg took to prove he was The Man. The scene was supposed to be funny. It wasn’t. It was abusive and borderline rapey.
The performances were solid, but I came away feeling like the characters in the greatest peril are the people who decide to watch this movie. Despite everything I’ve said, the movie isn’t so awful that I refuse to provide links to it. That being said, don’t blame me if you come away saying, “Wait, this is supposed to be funny?”
You can rent the movie on Amazon
You can check to see if your library has the movie available on Kanopy.
https://www.kanopy.com/en/highplains/video/13858573
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