Spa Weekend review – female answer to The Hangover spreads the slush with the massage oil
The Guardian's review of Spa Weekend, a new comedy starring Leslie Mann, Anna Faris, Isla Fisher and Michelle Buteau, finds the film a disappointing misfire despite being written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the duo behind The Hangover. The critic argues that in attempting to create a female-led version of that raunchy hit, the pair have produced a comedy that lacks genuine jokes and shies away from being edgy, mean or funny, instead settling into sentimentality.
The story follows four friends on a luxury spa weekend: Mann plays overworked lawyer Jane, who is expected to find romance with the resort's yoga instructor Kai (Adam Demos); Faris plays put-upon assistant Sophie; Buteau plays recently divorced Coco; and Fisher plays Mel, an abrasive "wild child" meant to shake up the group's dynamic. The reviewer notes that a potentially sharp premise — a friend nobody really likes — is undercut by a soft, predictable resolution in which everyone ends up loving her. Spa Weekend was released in Australia on 20 August and follows in the UK and US on 21 August.
- Guardian pans Spa Weekend, a female-led Hangover-style comedy.
- Written/directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, stars Mann, Faris, Fisher, Buteau.
- Critic says it lacks laughs and turns overly sentimental.
New here? Start with this
Spa Weekend is a new comedy film released this week, starring Leslie Mann, Anna Faris, Isla Fisher and Michelle Buteau as a group of friends on a luxury spa break. It comes from writer-directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who previously created The Hangover, a huge comedy hit built around a chaotic bachelor weekend. The idea behind Spa Weekend is essentially to apply that same raucous, ensemble-comedy formula to a group of women instead.
The plot centres on four friends, played by Mann, Faris, Buteau and Fisher, each dealing with their own personal situation, from career pressure to divorce, while one member of the group is deliberately written as an abrasive outsider whose presence tests the friendship dynamic. The film released in Australia on 20 August, with UK and US releases following on 21 August.
The story is significant chiefly because of the comparison to The Hangover, given the same creative team is behind both films. It sits within a broader, long-running conversation in film and entertainment about whether raunchy, male-led comedy formulas can be successfully reworked with women in the lead roles.