The Wrong Girls

Here’s hoping Dylan Meyer’s directorial debut finds an audience. If more people watched physical media and cable television today as they did a quarter century ago, then The Wrong Girls might have become a beloved cult favorite. When streaming services replaced those secondary markets in recent decades, the shift doomed midbudget fare and offbeat comedies. Titles such as Wet Hot American Summer (2005), Grandma’s Boy (2006), and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007) only became popular because viewers rediscovered them at home. Today, few movies get the same second chance, unless they’re highly visible in your streamer-of-choice’s algorithm for more than a week. It’s not that Meyers’ stoner comedy isn’t worth seeing (although seeing it sober isn’t ideal). Rather, The Wrong Girls, distributed by Neon, won’t be able to compete with its summer box-office contenders, leaving it to be discovered in one format or another at home. This is a shame.

I listed several early 2000s-era comedies above because Meyer’s tale—about two hapless and perpetually high housemates, Frankie (Kristen Stewart) and Molly (Alia Shawkat), who find themselves in desperate need of rent money—recalls that decade of filmmaking. The result is unpolished and scattershot, filled with arch angles and random asides. Doubtless, Meyer was inspired by aspects of Gregg Araki’s Smiley Face (2007), but also Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000) and the punkish Repo Man (1984). The movie has a piecemeal quality reminiscent of many vibe-centric titles, with more concern about capturing the stoner subculture around Los Angeles than telling a coherent plot. These two always-baked “bongloads” get into a series of misadventures, and TCH-influenced humor ensues, accented by a heightened aesthetic of fluorescent colors and surreal, hallucinatory imagery typical of stoner comedies. Fortunately, it’s all pretty well shot and assembled by Meyer and her d.p., Todd Banhazl. 

The story revolves around a briefcase, delivered to Frankie by mistake. She looks almost identical to her former boyfriend’s new partner, Frances (also played by Stewart, albeit behind glasses). So when a mysterious and well-armed contractor, whom Frankie dubs “Not Metal Head Dave” (LaKeith Stanfield), hands a briefcase to Frankie, not Frances, Frankie takes possession. What’s inside? Only several vials of a psychedelic substance derived from a pink and sparkly giant squid. Needing cash fast, they resolve to sell the mysterious stuff, but only after drinking a full vial to test the experience when a drop or two would have sufficed. While lost in a trip, they discover the liquid has given them mental powers. They can communicate telepathically and, when combined with TCH, the drug imbues them with telekinetic powers as well. Other characters include a goofy scientist (Kate McKinnon, doing her usual thing), a cadre of identical Danish assassins who work for someone called Mr. Kock (cue juvenile laughter), and Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani, who voice Frankie and Molly’s cats, Dio and GG. When in doubt, Meyer and editor Kathryn J Schubert cut to an animal reaction shot for a reliable smile. 

And yeah, I smiled a lot during The Wrong Girls. It’s more amusing than laugh-out-loud funny, with a couple of solid belly laughs, particularly in the second half. The movie takes a while to get going before our aimless heroes stumble into the conspiracy. When it does, their absurd, pot-brained behavior becomes even funnier in extreme situations. For instance, in the midst of the conflict, the friends take a random detour to their favorite all-you-can-eat spot for lunch, where Frankie samples a range of culinary combinations that Molly assembles from the existing buffet food (she might be a chef if not for the whole dealing with people and working thing). Much of the humor lies in Molly and Frankie being blissfully unaware of their dangerous circumstances until the second half. And even then, they barely grasp who’s after them and why. One scene finds them standing in the street, in their own little world, while an SUV filled with hired goons is six feet away, watching. And our heroes barely pay attention when Geena Davis shows up to deliver a pitch that will set them up for life. 

Dylan Meyer, daughter of Nicholas—who’s renowned for breathing new life into the Star Trek franchise with The Wrath of Khan (1982) and The Undiscovered Country (1991)—has been trying to tell this story for years. According to the press notes, the central friendship was based on her bond with her best friend and producer, Maggie McLean. Frankie and Molly’s friendship goes through a predictable third-act conflict that tests their friendship, only for all to be resolved with an underwhelming climax. The best parts occur in the middle, when the movie takes on a Harold & Kumar feel. The Wrong Girls only starts to overstay its welcome at 99 minutes, yet for most of the runtime, I found myself pleasantly diverted—though, I enjoyed Stewart’s other stoner comedy, American Ultra (2015), much more. Just don’t expect any hifalutin themes outside of the importance of friendship. It’s very watchable, never great, and, perhaps it goes without saying, should be watched under the influence. If you like these actors and enjoy partying, then I say get high and enjoy the show.