So Kristen Wiig, eh?
It almost feels inappropriate to laugh at this movie. Wiig plays Alice, a woman with a whole deck of diagnoses, the most recent being Borderline Personality Disorder, but still a few cards short.
A side note about Borderline Personality Disorder: BPD is nothing to mess with. People with BPD suffer from wildly unstable relationships and behaviours, often with brief psychotic episodes. They are prone to reckless and impulsive behaviour, and have problems regulating their thoughts and emotions. BPD often occurs with other mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, and self-harming or suicidal behaviours. It’s serious stuff.
And yet this movie dares to ask: what happens with Alice, an unstable woman suffering from BPD, wins millions upon millions of dollars in the state lottery?
Well, she goes off her meds, for one.
Next: she buys herself a talk show so she can be just like her idol, Oprah Winfrey. Only Alice doesn’t want to interview celebrities or do guest bedroom makeovers. She has only one topic in mind: ME. Or rather, her. Wouldn’t it be weird if Kristen Wiig made a movie and all she did was talk about me? Yeah, not this time, unfortunately. This time it’s all about Alice.
Wes Bentley and James Marsden appear as the owners of the TV network that’s so hard on its luck it makes a deal with someone who is clearly mentally unbalanced – and since Charlie Sheen can still get work, I guess we have to find this perfectly plausible. Jennifer Jason Leigh, also a network exec, is less enamoured with her.
Meanwhile Linda Cardellini plays Gina, the unsung best friend of Alice, who never gets any 
respect. She’s a far better friend than Alice deserves or knows what to do with, and is a serviceable conduit for audience pathos.
Is it funny to watch an emotionally confused woman re-enact moments of her childhood while reigning her TV kingdom from a throne that looks suspiciously like a swan? It is. But it’s a one-note kind of funny, which nothing in the way of plot of character development. The screen writer looked up BPD but didn’t have the balls to go all the way. Wiig is, as always, willing to be awkward as hell. And she is. It’s a good performance, and if you like Wiig you will inevitably find this movie enjoyable if not particularly memorable. Is it a compliment to her to say we always knew she had dark reserves of madness? She moves in this role fearlessly and does more than the script asks of her.
I’m not entirely sure if director Shira Piven was going for offbeat drama or dark comedy, but the end result is nearly as uneven as Alice herself. It makes for an uncomfortable revelation of selfie-centered, emotional exhibitionists when self-examination, and maybe self-care, are what are called for. Even more condemning: that Alice is so out of control, and the “well” people around her take so little notice.
If you’re looking for some quirky Netflix and chill, you’ll find this one under W.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
I forgot all about this one! Kristen Wiig has been keeping busy.
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I still can’t decide if I like her 🙂
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I can. I love her. She’s made some questionable choices lately though.
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Well I had to google her to see if I’d seen her in any movie, Ice Age-Dawn of the Dinosaurs & How to train your Dragon (1 & 2) are the only two, and I don’t suppose that’s a fair reflection of her work 🙂 This will be on my miss list too though, but look forward to finally seeing her in The Martian when I get round to that.
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If all you know of Kristen Wiig is her voice work and a very brief appearance against type in The Martian, that’s a very funny impression of her career!
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*sigh* hangs head in shame.
😄😄
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This is a shame-free site. Except Tuesdays.
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Phew!!
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Wiig is kind of a hit and miss for me. I like her but at times she aggravates me. This one doesn’t appeal to me whatsoever.
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Well I suspect in this she’d aggravate you. Although that’s kind of the point.
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I like Kristen Wiig but, like you, was bothered by the film’s own BPD.
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Yeah, I think she could have really owned a character like that.
I would have liked to see it under the filter of Paul Thomas Anderson, maybe.
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I’m intrigued!!!! I’ll,watch for it. Thanks Jay
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Fun review. Will have to catch it.
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Interesting post. BPD was one of the many things I was diagnosed with before they realised I had epilepsy. Not to be fucked with indeed. Despite the apparent flaws this one is now on my radar, and I like Wiig too.
Great post Jay!
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I’m impressed with Wiig trying to broaden her talents by trying all sorts of different things…but it appears she needs a more critical eye of scripts because her recent batch of films aren’t getting good ink. I had high hopes for this one.
Hopes…dashed.
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Was more hopeful for this film. Maybe I’ll still check it out.
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It’s not horrible. It’s very Kristen Wiigish. You might still be entertained, depending on your tolerance for that kindof stuff!
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Oh man, I don’t think I’ll be able to watch this because at work I deal with so many parents with BPD who choose not to take meds and prefer to use drugs instead. I think I would run out of the room with hideous work flashbacks!
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