Kristen Stewart’s Stoner Flop ‘The Wrong Girls’ Is Forgettable
The Wrong Girls: A Stoner Comedy That Forgets to Be Funny
TL;DR: The Wrong Girls wants to be the next great stoner comedy but ends up feeling like an inside joke you weren’t invited to. Despite a cool cast and pretty visuals, the jokes fall flat and the plot goes nowhere.
What Is This Movie Even About?
Imagine two best friends who love weed a lot. Like, "they have a machine called the bong-o-tron that takes up their whole coffee table" a lot. That’s Molly (Alia Shawkat) and Frankie (Kristen Stewart). They live in a magical stoner cave decorated with macrame, a life-size Céline Dion cutout, and multiple cat towers.
One night, Frankie gets mistaken for someone else at a punk show and ends up with a briefcase full of experimental drugs. These aren’t regular drugs—they give the girls telekinetic powers (moving things with their minds) and let them talk to their cats (voiced by Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani).
Chaos ensues as bad guys chase them across Los Angeles to get the briefcase back.
The Good Stuff
| Element | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| The Cast | Shawkat and Stewart have genuine chemistry. You believe they’ve been best friends forever. |
| The "Trip" Scenes | When the girls imagine being mermaids underwater, it looks gorgeous. Cinematographer Todd Banhazl (Hustlers, Olivia Rodrigo videos) makes these moments tactile and dreamy. |
| The Vibe | The production design is chef’s kiss—the bong-o-tron, the cat towers, the Dion cutout. It feels lived-in and specific. |
| Neon’s Backing | The distributor behind Parasite and Anora gave this a real theatrical release. That matters. |
The Not-So-Good Stuff
1. The Jokes Land with a Thud
- You can see punchlines coming a mile away (like a sitcom Thanksgiving episode where someone mixes up weed gummies and grandma’s vitamins).
- Munchies jokes and "too high to parallel park" bits feel like Stoner Comedy 101—first week material.
- Shock humor replaces actual wit: a character dips his penis in hummus for a "dick dip" gag. A villain is named Herr Koch just so people can say something that sounds like "cock." Eye roll.
2. The Plot Is Tissue-Paper Thin
- 99 minutes should fly by. Instead, the third act plods.
- The movie lurches from random set piece to random cameo without momentum.
- Stakes? What stakes?
3. Characters Feel Like Sketches, Not People
- Frankie = "plucky one who steals cable and has a ‘cool boobs’ tattoo."
- Molly = "wants to be a chef but just arranges buffet food aesthetically."
- Kate McKinnon plays a Danish scientist with an accent that feels like a rejected Austin Powers character.
- Compare this to Broad City—the gold standard of stoner buddy comedy—where every weird bit feels earned by years of lived-in friendship. Here? It feels written in a writers’ room.
4. It’s "High on Its Own Supply"
The old saying: don’t get high on your own supply. Meaning: don’t believe your own hype.
This movie had a blast making itself. But for the audience? It’s like watching someone else’s home videos where everyone’s laughing at a joke you don’t get.
Stoner Comedy Family Tree: Where Does This Fit?
CLASSICS (The Blueprint)
├── Half Baked (1998) — Slacker roommates, rent due, novelty bongs
├── Friday (1995) — "Rent is due" energy, neighborhood chaos
└── Superbad (2007) — Turning 20 next year (!), heart + raunch
MODERN GEMS
├── Broad City (TV) — NORTH STAR. Private jokes, real friendship, weird specificity
├── One of Them Days (2025) — Hit all the beats without weed. Keke Palmer + SZA magic
└── Pizza Movie (Hulu) — Streaming hit. People want to watch stoner comedies on their couch
THE WRONG GIRLS (2025)
├── Has the ingredients (bong-o-tron, rent due, slacker besties)
├── Misses the secret sauce (specificity, earned weirdness, jokes that land)
└── Feels like a cover band playing the hits without the soul
Important Callout
THIS ISN’T A "BAD" MOVIE—IT’S A DISAPPOINTING ONE.
There’s talent everywhere: a visionary DP, a cool distributor, two magnetic leads, a director (Dylan Meyer, also Kristen Stewart’s wife) who clearly loves the genre. But love ≠ mastery. The film mistakes references for jokes and weirdness for character. It’s a feature-length inside joke from a party you weren’t invited to.
Summary: Should You Watch It?
| If You… | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Love Shawkat/Stewart no matter what | Matinee or stream later — their chemistry carries the first 30 mins |
| Want a good stoner comedy | Rewatch Broad City or Friday instead |
| Care about cinematography | Worth it for the mermaid sequences alone |
| Hate "dick dip" humor | Hard pass |
| Are high right now | Maybe? But even then… |
Bottom line: The Wrong Girls has the look of a cult classic but the soul of a first draft. Neon took a swing—respect. But this one’s a foul tip.
FAQ: Your Burning Questions Answered
Is this a sequel to Superbad or related to The Wrong Girls (book/other media)?
Nope! Zero connection. The title’s just a coincidence. Superbad turns 20 in 2025—this review just name-drops it as a "feel old" benchmark.
Who directed this? Is it their first movie?
Dylan Meyer—yes, first-time feature director. She’s also Kristen Stewart’s wife and a writer (Moxie, XOXO). The review suggests she studied stoner comedies but didn’t crack what makes them work.
Are the cats actually talking, or is it a hallucination?
The drugs give them actual telepathy with cats (in movie logic). Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani voice the cats. It’s as weird as it sounds—and not as funny as it should be.
Why does the review mention One of Them Days and Pizza Movie?
To show where the genre is now:
- One of Them Days (2025) nailed the buddy-comedy energy without weed.
- Pizza Movie (Hulu) proved audiences prefer streaming stoner flicks at home.
- The Wrong Girls tries a theatrical release in this climate—bold, but the product doesn’t justify the trip.
Is there a post-credits scene?
The review doesn’t say—but honestly, by the time credits roll, you’ll likely be checking your phone.
Final Thought
Great stoner comedy = "You had to be there" energy that invites you in.
The Wrong Girls = "You had to be there" energy that excludes you.
Watch Broad City instead. Your time’s worth more.