I get a little mad when people haven’t seen Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar but say they love Romy and Michele or Anchorman or Austin Powers. Ten years after Bridesmaids (2011), Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo are back as the writers and stars for a very different type of female friendship comedy called Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar. Because Covid™, this movie missed its theatrical run and got a quiet video on demand release in February 2021 - which is truly a shame. The sets, the characters, the costuming and the dialogue are all iconic - they have the potential for true cult status and repeat group watches - the midnight viewings of Barb and Star would be like a tropical paradise variant of Rocky Horror Picture Show viewings.
the midnight viewings of Barb and Star would be like a tropical paradise variant of Rocky Horror Picture Show viewings
Barb (Mumolo) and Star (Wiig) are middle-aged best friends who live in Soft Rock, Nebraska and pretty set in their ways. The initial setting is really bland - showcasing the safety and predictability of their lives but also the overwhelming love they have for each other. When Barb and Star lose their jobs at the hottest spot in town (furniture shop), they are forced out of their normal routine. In a self-reflective and vulnerable moment, our BFFs ask if they’ve lost their shimmer - questioning if they aren’t living their full lives anymore since most of their fun memories are so long in the past, that their day to day has become rather predictable - after a beat they throw caution to the wind and book their trip to (you’re right!) Floridian Paradise - Vista Del Mar.
Once there, we go on a 90 minute journey, witnessing two lifelong besties transform on the screen from dull, stuck, and afraid to vibrant, adventurous, and joyful. They stop settling for the known and remember that they still have so much life to live. We hear a lot about what they used to be like before various life events (better to find these out first hand) happen and the candor that they discuss/express overcoming these hurdles is relatable at any age. All of this is their shimmer, a term that I’ve used off hand lately and realized that it’s not a known expression - let’s normalize it! It’s their lust for life, as Iggy Pop would call it - that sense of pursuing adventure, love, the unknown, the heart’s desire. It’s about L-I-V-I-N, like my guy Wooderson in Dazed and Confused so eloquently puts it.
While I stan for the sincerity of Barb and Star, I want to really emphasize that this is such an unapologetically funny, so silly movie. It’s been compared a little to Austin Powers but for women, which feels like 60% accurate. Just some of the things that Barb and Star contains: musical numbers (but it’s not a musical), a talking crab that gives advice, Reba McEntire as a water spirit (Trish), Damon Wayans Jr. as the maybe worst spy in the world with the best hats, a pianist singing songs about boobies AND his friends who have recently died (talk about range), a Celine Dion club remix, Jamie Dornan doing the most joyful dance number on the beach, and there’s a throuple situation with all the main characters involving a saxophone. At one point, Star admits to Edgar that she’s falling in love with him, saying “your dong went so deep it touched my heart” - meanwhile Barb meets Tommy Bahama, who cleanses a wound for her and then she motorcycles across a cliff like Evel Knievel.
Underneath that silly is a whole lot of heart, and that’s why I keep coming back to it. I’ve found myself in a rut due to burnout, which is probably why I’m on a true rewatch kick. I’ve lamented about my own lost shimmer a lot in the past year and in the last 2 months I’ve started taking action to search for it. It started with quitting my very stable and safe job because I wasn’t learning things I wanted to learn about and it was making me really bitter (I feel overwhelmingly fortunate that my husband was so supportive in this and that it’s feasible for us to do this together). I’ll be 4 weeks into a summertime sabbatical by the time this issue drops. In those 4 weeks I’ve started to see a return of energy, zest for exploration, my memory and ability to listen are improving, and I’m beginning to remember how to choose how to spend my time instead of just trying to close the door on my days. I know this is just the start, but I’m excited about the direction. I think this would have happened without Barb and Star, but in their silly and approachable way they helped me name my predicament.
Maybe you’ve been in similar spots? Where you’re comfortable and tell yourself it’s ok that the weeks repeat in a standard cycle and not much is out of your routine. Doing anything else requires vulnerability and when we’re in darker spaces that is so hard to open our arms to. There’s a scene with Barb, who is on the beach alone after Star runs off with Edgar, and she’s been invited to snorkel. Barb’s afraid of the ocean but wants to try it so badly. When she finally puts her face into the water she sees scores of tropical fish and her face just lights up. From there she’s off and running - trying all of the things that she’s been hesitant to do for so many years, making a positive impression on everyone around her just by existing in her own skin confidently, she’s radiating joy.
I want to be like Barb, I want to remember how to choose to do things because I want to do them and I want to inspire those around me to come on the adventure too. Here’s to finding our shimmer, doing the things that scare us, and chasing life to its fullest.
shim·mer
/`SHimər/
noun: A spark, a positive energy, zest, joy
verb: A lust for life, a desire to explore, create, search, experience - to live