Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have been a terrific comedy tandem since their Second City days, through their smashing of the comedic glass ceiling as anchors on SNL’s Weekend Update, and of course their groundbreaking cinematic comedy gold that was Baby Mama. They re-teamed a few times as hosts of the Golden Globes to great reviews and finally have come back together on the big screen once more for their long gestating follow-up to their first film, the aptly titled Sisters.
Fey and Poehler as Sisters? On paper, this sounds amazing. But, in reality, as we stated in our theatrical Sisters review, the film sadly falls a little flat. Fans of the pair will certain enjoy witnessing them together again because their chemistry can do no wrong. As a film comedy, not all the jokes work and the story is held together by the flimsiest of plots.
This is one movie whose home video release with all those hilarious bonus features, is a Blu-Ray that is saved by arriving on the home front.
Maura (Poehler) and Kate (Fey) learn that their parents (Diane Wiest and James Brolin) are selling their childhood home. Their asked to come home to Florida and go through the house and take anything they want because before too long, it will belong to someone else. Unwilling to let go of all their awesome (or somewhat awesome) memories from their hey days in middle and high school, the two hatch a plan to throw one last bash in their childhood home in hopes that that will serve as the closure they need to move on and out.
What’s fascinating about this release is that it is the unrated version of what was unveiled in theaters and it features over and hour of deleted scenes and extended scenes. Somewhere in there is actually a better movie than the one that was delivered to audiences back in December. Like we stated, the home video saves the day!
Letting Poehler and Fey fly their freak flag and not be constrained by theatrical edits works here as many of those scenes that didn’t make the theatrical cut add humor and heart to the entire picture, all the while — those extended moments allowed many other jokes to breathe and land more fruitfully.
The first, and best, bonus feature shows off the stellar talents of the cast. The Improvorama is an eight-and-a-half minute whirlwind of Fey, Poehler and the cast giving us their best improvs throughout the film as these highly trained comic actors give great insight into honing a great joke as they do hilarious lines off the cuff. It is here, also, that we get that priceless feeling that Fey and Poehler are something truly special. Even if Sisters the film itself is a bit of a miss, these two need to keep working together. Improvorama proves that in droves.
A Teen Movie…For Adults is right there on our must-see recommendations list for the Sisters Blu-Ray. The just over 10-minute salute to the making of the movie takes us behind-the-scenes as the cast and crew take us through the characters and how they avoided falling into genre potholes (they surprisingly did), as well giving us a front-row seat to how director Jason Moore managed to make one of the film’s major moments work.
A simultaneously touching and insightful featurette shines the light on screenwriter Paula Pell. The Original Sister features Pell, along with her sister Patti, as the two give us a first-hand account of their unique relationship that would manifest itself (in many ways) on the big screen in Sisters. One of the more hilarious parts of the movie is where Poehler and Fey read from their teenage diary. In a real treat, Paula and Patti share passages from theirs!
The Gag Reel is merely three-plus minutes long, and we figure there had to be more guffaw moments from the 90-minute movie… so that’s a little disappointing. But, what is nice is The Kate and Pazuzu Chronicles. John Cena’s shocking turn as a drug dealer/romantic interest for Fey is one of the most surprisingly awesome things about the film and this also-too-short riff features outtakes from Cena and Fey’s finest moments. Maybe there’s a future movie with these two somewhere? Please?
Lastly, we have to highlight the audio commentary track that features Moore, but also Fey and Poehler, as well as writer Pell. It’s a wide-reaching track that gives insight and even adds some more humor to the film. Listening to these pros look back on the making of the movie, as well as simply be themselves, illustrates how good this film could have been – but at the same time, shows how the Blu-Ray release makes the entire effort worth your time.
Film: C-
Bonus Features: B