At least this means Lauren Lapkus got paid.
Likes: Lauren Lapkus is giving it her all in every scene and brings a chaotic energy which could be great in a different movie.
Dislikes: I’ve heard David Spade is a nice guy. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have helmed an absolute abysmal excuse of a comedy movie.
Bottom Line: Move along, nothing to see here. Go listen to a Lauren Lapkus podcast instead.
1 out of 5. ◆◇◇◇◇
by Jacob Schermerhorn
The Wrong Missy takes place in that classic Happy Madison universe.
You know the one. It’s a universe where unattractive, unpleasant schlubs like Kevin James score hot wives, big houses and extravagant vacations all while treating each other to countless demeaning put downs and an insult comedy routine. If you’ve seen one (Grownups, Just Go With It, Blended, Murder Mystery, etc…), you’ve seen them all.
The big (not-secret) secret is none of them are really movies. They’re really excuses for Adam Sandler and his buddies to hang out and vacation at exotic locations.
In that sense, The Wrong Missy fits all those categories. David Spade stars as Timothy “Tim” Morris, an executive at some big undefined banking firm (White collar job, check). When Tim goes on a company retreat to Hawaii (Exotic location, check) hoping to score a big promotion, he accidently invites the wrong Melissa, “Missy,” a crazy, insufferable woman he had a horrible first date with. (“Hilarious” premise, check)
Side characters played by a variety of Sandler’s posse show up including Rob Schneider (Playing an offensive version of a person of color, check) and Nick Swardson. (When did he get so fat?, check) It also features cameos by Bobby Lee, Jorge Garcia, Roman Reigns and, of course, Vanilla Ice (Check check check)
One major difference is that the female lead opposite isn’t a Happy Madison regular like Maya Rudolph, Drew Barrymore or Jennifer Aniston, it’s a comedy nerd superstar but mainstream unknown Lauren Lapkus as Missy.
Lapkus is a comedic force in her own right with a variety of podcasts, TV appearances, and live shows and seriously deserves better than this movie. She does all the heavy lifting in The Wrong Missy with most scenes asking her to do some ridiculous behavior while everyone else puts down her or acts as straight man.
A big wasteful shame is that Lapkus gives scenes her all. She brings a chaotic, energetic and unhinged performance that, alongside more complementary characters or a more absurb filmmaking style, could have been absolutely fantastic. (The underrated Between Two Ferns movie which Lapkus is also my personal MVP in, comes to mind) Spade and co., on the other hand, it seems can barely move as any of their scenes drag through molasses.
Which is one of the (many) issues I have with the Happy Madison universe films. Why is Tim so desirable? I get Missy’s positives and how Tim falls in love with her for living in the moment, being wild and free, etc… (Very manic pixie dream girl when I think about it now…) But Tim doesn’t have much of a personality beyond exasperated.
In something like the Grownups saga, at least we see Adam Sandler’s character is fun and, in his own way, a caring father. On the flip side, Tim gets an overbearing mother, general anxiety and worriedness and no particular professional acumen. Yet one of the scenes posits that two women are attracted enough to him to have a three-way.
That fact that, in real life, Lapkus is 34 and Spade is 55, makes the paring even more head scratching and creepy. (That’s a twenty-one-year age difference! Twenty-one! The difference between them can legally drink in the U.S.!)
Toward the beginning of the movie, at the bad first date, Missy even lampshades the difference. (“The age thing doesn’t concern me. What are you, 65? I know that’s a blonde wig and I don’t care!”) And that’s all the time the movie spends on it, which doesn’t make it any less weird.
I get that analyzing any of this movie is a trap. The Happy Madison universe is a vacation, not a work of art or effort (except Lapkus). But I can’t help it. As long as they keep making these movies, these movies will continue to give me fascination and frustration.
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