Wine Country is a comedy about long time friends who gather for a 50th birthday party in Napa. Having not been together in their group in a while, as one might expect, tensions soon arise.

Directed by Amy Poehler who also stars alongside Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch, the premise of the story is the main reason I was interested. Especially since it reminded me of two memorable comedies. Namely Bridesmaids (2011) and Girls Trip (2017) – both of which are focused on the often unspoken tensions between us and our very closest friends.

Poehler’s film is one that started with some promise. It’s just that approximately fifteen minutes in, my interest started to wane. The story, dialogue and some of the character development proved not quite engaging enough to keep me focused.

I enjoyed the few scenes that featured Fey, and I recall laughing a couple of times in between. Yet, overall, the characters of Wine Country just didn’t capture my imagination and heart the way the ladies from Bridesmaids and Girls Trip did. It certainly didn’t help that some jokes were dragged out for too long, and the seemingly endless sing-alongs proved annoying.

It’s really mainly the sunshine-rich location and Fey’s character that were the key highlights of Wine Country. Almost everything else, particularly the comedy felt as though I’d seen it before but executed in a more memorable way.

I say watch it if you absolutely must. Who knows, perhaps you’ll find more to love, and if you do, you’re very welcome to let me know in the comments precisely why I missed the goodness within.

Happy Film Loving,

G