ADULT BEST FRIENDS – Review by Loren King
Like last year’s Babes, this female buddy comedy begins with girlhood bonding over sleepovers then whisks us to the present when the gals are in their 30s and on very different paths.
Co-writer and producer Katie Corwin plays Katie, about to be engaged to nice-guy John (Mason Gooding) while her BFF Delaney (co-writer and director Delaney Buffett) remains stuck in a state that alternates between ennui and teenage rebelliousness. Corwin and Buffett, who’s the daughter of musician Jimmy Buffett, have no qualms about making themselves immature and even unlikable at times to get a laugh. Corwin has fun portraying Katie’s straightlaced side while Delaney relishes the role of the irresponsible slacker who resists her friend’s move to marriage and settling down.
The plot is just a pretext for the friends to carry on. It involves Katie arranging a girls’ trip so that she can break news of her engagement to Delaney. They arrive at an AirBnB where an ingratiating, nervous host (a humorous Cory Walls) has a long list of don’ts. Despite drinks and carousing at a local bar, Katie still doesn’t tell Delaney that their bond is about to change. Meanwhile, John waits patiently back home to plan their wedding and can’t understand the codependent dynamic between the friends.
The supporting cast is likable, particularly Zachary Quinto as Katie’s therapy-speaking brother whose theories come from eavesdropping on his wife’s sessions with clients. But the two leads must carry the film and make the bonds of friendship and the threat of change convincing. While there may be some autobiographical elements to the comedy, Corwin and Buffett have created characters and a situation that many female friends of all ages will find relatable.
