Why Kristen Stewart’s Stoner Comedy ‘The Wrong Girls’ Falls Flat
The Wrong Girls Movie Review: A Simple Guide to the New Stoner Comedy
What Is This Movie All About?
Imagine two best friends who love to hang out, smoke weed, and get into silly adventures. That’s "The Wrong Girls" in a nutshell!
This new comedy stars Alia Shawkat (Molly) and Kristen Stewart (Frankie) as roommates living in a super cool, weird apartment filled with:
- Macrame decorations
- A life-size cardboard cutout of Céline Dion
- Lots of cat towers
- A crazy invention called the "bong-o-tron" (a complex tube system that takes up their whole coffee table)
Important Point: This movie is rated R, which means it’s for grown-ups only!
The Story (Without Spoilers!)
Here’s what happens, step by step:
- Normal Life: Molly and Frankie spend their days getting high, singing power ballads in the car, and imagining they’re mermaids under the sea
- The Mix-Up: At a punk concert, someone mistakes Frankie for another person and gives her a briefcase full of experimental drugs
- Superpowers! These drugs give them:
- Telekinesis (moving things with their minds, like Matilda!)
- Cat communication – they can suddenly talk to their cats (voiced by famous comedians Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani)
- Chaos Ensues: Bad guys chase them across Los Angeles to get the briefcase back
- Wild Adventures: Lots of silly, stoned misadventures follow!
What the Reviewer Liked
| Good Thing | Why It’s Cool |
|---|---|
| Visual Style | The "trip scenes" look beautiful and creative, like DIY art projects |
| Cinematography | The camera work (by Todd Banhazl, who filmed Hustlers and music videos for Olivia Rodrigo & Bruno Mars) makes the mermaid fantasy scenes stunning |
| Lead Actresses | Shawkat and Stewart have fun chemistry together at first |
| Cool Apartment | The set design is genuinely awesome and full of personality |
What the Reviewer Didn’t Like
1. Not Very Funny
- Jokes are predictable (like a Thanksgiving sitcom episode where someone mixes up weed gummies and grandma’s vitamins)
- Too few actual laughs
- You can see punchlines coming "a mile off"
2. Trying Too Hard for Internet Fame
- Random gross-out moments (like a character putting his penis in hummus just for a "dick dip" joke)
- Character named "Herr Koch" just so people can make a "cock" sound-alike joke
- Feels like they’re chasing memes instead of writing real comedy
3. Weak Story & Characters
- Plot is paper-thin and gets thinner as the movie goes on
- Characters feel underdeveloped – we don’t really know them beyond surface traits
- Running gags (blue cheese brownies, Céline Dion obsession) aren’t actually funny
- Even at only 99 minutes, the third act drags
4. Wasted Talent
- Kate McKinnon plays a Danish scientist with a terrible accent that copies Austin Powers’ Frau Farbissina
- The cats (voiced by comedy pros Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani) don’t get enough to do
The Big Picture: Stoner Comedies Then vs. Now
| Era | Examples | Where People Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Era | Superbad (turning 20!), Half Baked, Friday | Movie theaters |
| Recent Theater | One of Them Days (2025) – no weed smoking at all! | Movie theaters |
| Modern Trend | Pizza Movie (Hulu) | Streaming at home |
Important Point: The Wrong Girls is trying to bring stoner comedies BACK to theaters, distributed by Neon (the same company that brought us Oscar winners Parasite and Anora).
The Reviewer’s Final Verdict
"The best stoner comedies make you feel like you’re in on inside jokes from years of friendship (like Broad City). But The Wrong Girls just feels high on its own supply."
Translation: The people making the movie probably had a blast filming it. But for the audience watching? It’s like being the only sober person at a party where everyone else is laughing at jokes you don’t get.
Summary
The Wrong Girls has:
- Great visuals and cool apartment set
- Talented lead actresses
- Interesting premise (stoners get superpowers!)
But suffers from:
- Predictable, unfunny jokes
- Paper-thin plot that runs out of steam
- Characters that feel like sketches, not real people
- Desperate attempts at viral moments
- Wasted supporting talent
Bottom Line: Looks cool, but the humor doesn’t land. Wait for streaming unless you’re a die-hard fan of the stars.
FAQ
What does "high on its own supply" mean?
It’s a saying from drug dealer culture meaning "believing your own hype." Here, it means the filmmakers thought their movie was funnier than it actually is.
Do I need to be high to enjoy this movie?
The reviewer wondered the same thing! They asked: "Just how high would you have to be to appreciate this humor?" So probably not a good sign for sober viewing.
Who directed this movie?
Dylan Meyer – this is her first time directing! Fun fact: she’s Kristen Stewart’s wife in real life.
Are the cats really talking?
In the movie, yes! The experimental drugs let the girls understand their cats. The cats are voiced by famous comedians Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani.
When does it come out?
August 14 in theaters across the US (distributed by Neon).
Is it connected to Superbad or other stoner movies?
No direct connection, but it follows in that tradition. The reviewer notes it has "all the touchstones" of the genre – slacker roommates (Half Baked), rent problems (Friday), crazy bong setups – but doesn’t learn the right lessons from those classics.