“High school was a horror movie, and this is the sequel…”
When Marni (Kristen Bell) was in high school, she was, well, to put it nicely, your typical geek. Between the braces, the bad complexion, the coke-bottle glasses, and the unfortunate word that her initials spelled out – “MOO”, Marni was an easy target for the school’s bully, JJ (Odette Yustman, think Megan Fox only not skanky and a lot more pleasant).
Fast forward eight years, and Marni is now a successful Public Relations agent who was recently promoted to Vice President of one of her firm’s offices. More good news – her brother is getting married!! Now the bad news – his fiancé is the one and only JJ, Marni’s high school nemesis, who now goes by the name Joanna. Marni arrives home for the wedding and is surprised to discover that Joanna pretends not to remember her and the horrible way she treated her back in high school. But Marni didn’t forget.
Next we meet Joanna’s rich, jet-setting Aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver), who lo and behold, has a history with Marni’s mother Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis). Now there are two generations of bullies and the bullied in this wedding!!
Even though it’s been eight years since high school, Joanna picks up where she left off and continues to torment Marni. Then, when a series of unfortunate incidents causes Marni to look just as she did in high school, Marni decides that enough is enough. Tired of the abuse, she decides to show Will what Joanna is really like. So she digs up the high school’s time capsule video and plays it at the rehearsal dinner. What happens next is complete chaos.
I thought this movie was fast-paced and didn’t drag. There were several funny scenes, including a dance rehearsal at the wedding planner’s studio and another part when Gail goes to visit Ramona in her lavish hotel suite. And of course, everyone knows there is going to be a girl fight between Marni and Joanna. That was funny too!!
I can’t forget to mention notable performances by Betty White (the “It Girl” of the moment), Kristin Chenowith (as the wedding planner with a flair for performances) and Kyle Bornheimer (as Tim, Joanna’s ex-boyfriend who still has a thing for her, big-time and isn’t afraid to show it. Tim was quite amusing in a sad sort of way).
Will the wedding go on? Will Joanna apologize to Marni for making her high school years a living hell? Check out “You Again” for the answers. A fun, comical film with a great cast and a super soundtrack.
