Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Ana Faris and Michelle Buteau in “Spa Weekend.”
Black Bear Pictures
Spa Weekend, starring Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Michelle Buteau and Anna Faris, is new in theaters, and Rotten Tomatoes critics aren’t exactly willing to check into the movie retreat.
In the film, Jane (Mann), Mel (Fisher), Coco (Buteau) and Sophie (Faris) were inseparable best friends growing up, but as adults, Jane, Coco and Sophie are busy as single moms with stressful jobs and growing kids with activities to get to.
Realizing that they can barely find enough time for themselves, much less for each other, Jane, Coco and Sophie put their collective foot down and decide to spend a weekend at a luxurious spa, but purposefully leave Mel out of their plans because she’s a troublemaking train wreck.
However, when one of the three women feels guilty about snubbing their lifelong pal, Mel shows up and suddenly the weekend turns to complete chaos, tempting the trio to break free from the madness that has hobbled their friend group for years.
Written and directed by The Hangover and Bad Moms co-writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, Spa Weekend also stars Dominic Ona-Ariki, Erika Heynatz and Adam Demos.
The review embargo for Spa Weekend lifted at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Thursday. As of Friday midday, the film has earned a 50% “rotten” critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer based on 16 reviews. RT’s Critics Consensus, Audience Summary and Popcornmeter score for Spa Weekend are still pending.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Spa Weekend’?
Glenn Kenny of The New York Times is among the critics on Rotten Tomatoes who give Spa Weekend a “rotten” critic score, writing of the core cast, “These are sharp, funny performers, and one wishes that the movie’s co-writers and co-directors, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, had furnished them with a script that consistently measures up to their talents.”
Kevin Maher of The Times (U.K.) shares Kenny’s sentiments, simply writing on RT that the film is “a low point for all involved.”
Meanwhile, Travis Hopson of Punch Drunk Critics is among the critics who give Spa Weekend a “fresh” rating. Hopson writes in his RT review summary, “Spa Weekend is light and entertaining, the kind of easygoing time that you can have with your friends over brunch, sipping mimosas.”
Molly Freeman of Screen Rant also gives Spa Weekend a “fresh” score on RT, writing, “As a mid-budget, 90-minute, R-rated buddy comedy, Spa Weekend is decidedly middle of the pack.”
Isla Fisher, Anna Faris, Leslie Mann and Michelle Buteau in “Spa Weekend.”
Black Bear Pictures
‘Spa Weekend’ – A Mini-Review
Overall, Rotten Tomatoes critics are on the money by deeming Spa Weekend “rotten.”
While the film’s cast is loaded with talent — especially the core friend group made up of Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Michelle Buteau and Anna Faris — their talents are largely wasted in Spa Weekend, a formulaic raunch comedy that doesn’t do anything to separate itself from a limiting genre to begin with.
Yes, while co-writers/directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore captured lightning in a bottle twice with The Hangover and Bad Moms, Spa Weekend is basically a poor imitation of the two that tries to hide its deep flaws with endless F-bombs, crude dialogue and one pratfall after another. It’s too bad, because the film seems to get off on the right foot as Jane, Coco and Sophie plan their trip, but the mechanisms of the movie are thrown into disarray when Fisher’s Mel turns up on the scene.
While Fisher has proven in past films that she is well capable of making a character her own, it feels like she was set up to fail with such an obnoxious character as Mel in Spa Weekend. No matter how hard Fisher tries, Mel was written by Lucas and Moore to be annoying throughout the entire movie, and it doesn’t take a scene or two after her introduction to start grating on your nerves.
The ultimate goal of Spa Weekend is simple: for the core group of friends to rekindle and maintain the same strong bond that they had before life as most adults know it took over. That’s a point well taken and something everybody in life should strive for, and as such, the film rallies to inject a bit of emotion into the narrative as Jane, Coco and Sophie’s friendship with Mel reaches a breaking point.
However, 10 minutes of heart is hardly enough to save a 97-minute movie, as any hope for a satisfying experience erodes in the 87 minutes that precede it.
Rated R, Spa Weekend opens in theaters nationwide on Friday.