Spring Breakdown

Reading some of the comments on the message boards here I was expecting this movie to be a complete letdown - but when I watched it I could not stop laughing! It has officially become my new favourite movie.

I don't know what all the hate here is about, maybe it's because a movie of this kind has never really been around before. I am at a loss to name another completely female driven comedy. Plenty of comedies will have one or two actresses in the lead, but there will be a lot of supporting male characters. This one was almost ALL women - with the exception of Seth Meyers, Justin Hartley and the brief appearance of Will Arnett - and it worked. All of the actresses delivered very funny performances (especially Missi Pyle) from a quirky and lovable script.

The charm of this film, to me, seems to be in its subtle feminist message: accepting who you are, female success in the public sphere, the strength of female friendships and breaking gender roles. Light-hearted though it is, each of the lead characters face a challenge as their attempts to be more 'fun' conflict with their feminist values and who they knew themselves to be.

Missi Pyle proposed that this film missed a theatrical release because of its all-female cast and lack of a big-name actor to get the studios behind it, and I have to agree. Everyone I've recommended this film to has loved it and I think it's a shame that a comedy celebrating female dorkiness hasn't been widely accepted and successful.

I highly recommend this film to anyone with an open mind or a love of female-centred comedy.

Dude this movie rocks with great conflict comedy, social satire and the deliciously sexy Sophie Monk in one of her biggest roles yet! If you are at all enlightened/political you will love the female GW Bush character, the environmental jokes, the feminist humor amid wet tee-shirts,...

Gentlemen, don't be threatened by a chick-flick that straddles all sides of the aisle. Sit back and enjoy a drunk Rachael Dratch shouting "Do me!" as her friends haul her away. Parker Posey as the suck-up gopher who loves the environment and Amy Poehler as a wannabe "seven" girl also deliver in a big way.

Then there is the delectable Sophie Monk. Thank GOD she's getting larger roles. Girl you got it going on. Call me!

Gayle O'Brien (Amy Poehler), Becky St. Germaine (Parker Posey), and Judi Joskow (Rachel Dratch) are three friends from State College. They think that things will get better, but 15 years later, they are still losers. Becky works for Senator Hartmann (Jane Lynch). She gets sent down to springbreak to watch over the senator's daughter Ashley Hartmann (Amber Tamblyn) and her friends Lydia (Mae Whitman) and Truvy (Sarah Hagan). Only the three young friends are really just as much of losers as the three older women.

Amy Poehler got some pretty good laughs in. When she was rejected by a blind Will Arnett, that's a funny bit. Parker Posey and Rachel Dratch aren't that funny at all. Dratch chasing after Justin Hartley seems more creepy than funny. As for the younger three, they just don't have enough to do. Amber Tamblyn is pretty good but there might be too many lead characters. Not everybody has the room to breathe.

Released in 2009 and directed by Ryan Shiraki, "Spring Breakdown" is a comedy about three geeky women in their mid-30s (Amy Poehler, Parker Posey & Rachel Dratch) who finally decide to get "with it" by going to Spring Break at the notorious South Padre Island, Texas. They're supposed to keep an eye on a senator's daughter (Amber Tamblyn) so she doesn't get out of hand. Jane Lynch plays the politician whereas Missi Pyle is on hand as a party girl.

The plot is cute, there are some quietly amusing bits and the raunch is thankfully kept at bay, but this is mostly a missed opportunity. I think females will appreciate it more than I did; it screams "chick flick." It does, however, show the awful truth about the bikini & beer subculture built around Spring Break (pukin' on the beach and having sex with a total stranger while dead drunk; yeah that sounds like fun – woo hoo!).

The film runs 84 minutes and was shot at South Padre Island, Texas, and Long Beach & Los Angeles (UCLA), California.

GRADE: C- (4.5/10)

Spring Breakdown stars Amy Poehler, Parker Posey and Rachel Dratch as three thirty-something losers. They are 15 years out of college and now they are going on a spring break vacation.

The high school or college losers are very common characters, it was a pleasure to see the older version of the cliché characters.

The movie is riddled with clichés, you will know what is going to happen next, but I still found myself laughing along with it. There are a lot of great actors in this movie and they all embody their different characters perfectly.

The movie is short and spends just the right amount of time necessary to give us the background information needed on each of the characters. The movie does not take itself seriously so it works very well for a quick, funny comedy.