MOVIE SCENE CANADA
THE FABULOUS FOUR
I levelFILM I July 26, 2024 I 99 mins. I
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31%
* As of 7/24/24
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Bette Midler, Megan Mullally, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Bruce Greenwood,
Timothy V. Murphy, Michael Bolton
Directed By: Jocelyn Moorhouse
If three’s a crowd, four’s a party! THE FABULOUS FOUR is an uproarious comedy about a group of life-long friends (Sarandon, Mullally, and Ralph) who travel to Key West, Florida, to be bridesmaids in the surprise wedding of their best college girlfriend Marilyn (Midler). Over the course of one outrageous trip, sisterhoods are rekindled, the past resurfaces, and there are enough sparks, raunch, and romance to change all their lives in unexpected ways.
REVIEW BY: Darren Zakus - 7/28/24
RATING 2.5 out of 5
The Fabulous Four has great talent in front of the camera with Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Megan Mullaly and Sheryl Lee Ralph, all of whom are absolutely delightful, but an uninventive screenplay that treads familiar and worn out genre tropes prevents this film from being the joyful and hilarious time it could have been.
In recent years, we have seen great success with comedy films featuring some of the most talented older actresses in Hollywood, weaving heartwarming stories of friendship, life and adventure full of laughter and unexpected situations. We’ve seen Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen delight with their friendship after reading 50 Shades of Grey in the two Book Club films; and Sally Field, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno and Fonda head to the Super Bowl in search of Tom Brady in the ever charming 80 for Brady, and now it's time for Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Megan Mullaly and Sheryl Lee Ralph to get the same treatment in The Fabulous Four… even if Mullaly and Ralph are both at least ten years younger than Midler and Sarandon. For audiences who have seen films in this subgenre before, this film treads familiar territory as college friends reunite for one of their weddings, and while the cast has wonderful energy that makes the film a fun watch, it is not enough to elevate the script that plays it far too safe and merely skims the surface of the emotion and themes of friendship it seeks to explore.
When one of the film’s biggest moments is Sarandon stopping a bicycle thief with a Kegel ball, you know what type of movie you are going to get. It’s harmless fun, with the film’s highlights including Midler trying to use her iPad to control her smart pool, TikTok unboxing videos, parasailing and recreational drugs, and a Michael Bolton musical performance featuring Mullaly, and it gives the audience exactly the fun moments they have come to expect from this comedy subgenre. None of them are terribly inventive, playing with tropes that we have seen before in similar films (anyone remember the “Gloria” performance from Book Club: The Next Chapter or the Billy Porter dance number in 80 for Brady), and while none of these moments are bad by any means, it feels too pedestrian as it never tries to do anything unique to make this film standout from the rest. It’s all good fun, but the rest of the film is lacking emotional honesty or more meaningful themes explored, providing a surface level exploration of the women and their friendship, with all of their difficulties sorted out far too quickly and simply to fit everything into the film’s short runtime. It’s not a bad film, but it has very little to say and gives the audience very few reasons to get invested in the characters.
Audiences aren’t going to pick The Fabulous Four from the list of movies playing at their local cinema because of the story, they are picking it because of its cast. And Midler, Sarandon, Mullaly and Ralph deliver everything you want from this film. The four of them have an infectious energy that is warm and welcoming, easily convincing you that they are old friends reuniting, while there is an underlying tension in the group that propels their character’s development. Their comedic timing amongst themselves is stellar, ensuring that you will have some good laughs throughout the film. Sarandon is great as the more cynical and pragmatic member of the group, while having sweet romantic chemistry with her co-star Bruce Greenwood in one of the film’s subplots. Midler is energetic and the perfect amount of zany as the bride-to-be Marilyn, about to marry her boyfriend of six months and documenting all of her wedding festivities on TikTok, delivering the comedic performance with a great cinematic flair that we all know she is capable of. Mullaly has the majority of the comedic relief as Alice, cracking jokes as she does best, but it was surprising to see her character and not Ralph’s as the singer… because of Ralph’s background in music. Ralph herself is a wonderful addition to the cast, bringing a strong comedic energy that plays very well in this type of film. There are supporting roles in the film, and every cast member in these roles is good when they are on screen, but the screenplay is entirely focused on Midler, Sarandon, Mullaly and Ralph and their talents, and it’s probably for the better as they are the film’s biggest asset.
With a cast that is led by Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Megan Mullaly, and Sheryl Lee Ralph, it is hard to resist checking out a light and enjoyable film like The Fabulous Four. While it has the fun comedic moments audiences will expect from such a film, the screenplay is lacking in an engaging story to truly invest audiences in these characters despite the entertaining lead performances. While Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Megan Mullaly, and Sheryl Lee Ralph and have a great chemistry that brings the comedic moments of the film to life, The Fabulous Four struggles to find its own voice as it feels too familiar to other films in the same subgenre and has an underdeveloped story that does not support the strong women leading the film.