By Arlena St. Hilaire
You Again No matter how old you are, you never get over high school. You Again is a nonstop laugh fest, in this hysterical reunion of nice girl versus mean girl. Directed by Andy Fickman (Race to Witch Mountain, Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical) and written by first-timer Moe Jelline, You Again is predicated on the grim notion that you can transform yourself from the ugly duckling into the swan, but you’ll never be free of the ugly duckling whose awkward and ungainly waddle were mercilessly mocked by others. Moe Jelline's screenplay in a sense combines two comedy subgenres, wedding and high school reunion movies, with the theory being that such gatherings bring out the worst in people. You Again is an outrageous comedy featuring an all-star female cast, including Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman, Kristin Chenoweth and Betty White. Marni (Kristen Bell) a successful PR executive has to make a trip home for her brother’s wedding. What she doesn’t realize is that her brother, Will (James Wolk) is marrying Joanna (Odette Yustman), the girl who tormented her in high school and made her life a living hell. To make matters worse, Marni’s mom Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) recognizes the bride’s highfalutin aunt as her own high school rival. In one of those only in the movies contrivances, Joanna (Yustman) claims to not remember Marni. Thus, Marni sets out to prove that the too good to be true Joanna does remember torturing her and that she’s a phony.
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Vol. 23, No. 23 • February 24 – March 2, 2011