Romy
and Michele’s High School Reunion, if you weren’t in your teens or twenties
in the late 90’s I bet you didn’t see it. It was Mean Girls before Mean
Girls. It’s the story of two twenty-something overblown Valley Girls
scheming up a plan to wow all the assholes who made fun of them in high school
at their upcoming reunion - what’s not to love?
I
have a confession to make, I haven’t seen all of Friends. I know, shame
on me I guess. I knew Lisa Kudrow as Michele before I knew her as Phoebe, even
though Friends was a constant on television my entire childhood. I just
saw this movie way more than I watched Friends. There just couldn’t be
another Michele, just like no one else could be Romy but Mira Sorvino. They are
the perfect combo of lovable idiots. And their friendship is so pure, you
believe anything they say to each other. Romy and Michele have an eye for
fashion - it might be the most outrageous eye for fashion but they have it. From
the first time you meet them, lying in bed making fun of Pretty Woman decked out in neon colors like they are about to hit
the club all the way to the baby pink and blue dresses they made for the
reunion there are some seriously insane outfits. The catalyst for their epic
life makeover is a chance encounter with former classmate, Heather Mooney (played
by the one and only Janeane Garofalo). Now, Heather here is what one might call
a stone cold bitch, and she has every right to be a chain-smoking, all-black-wearing,
cursing bitch. She is the literal opposite of Romy and Michele. Like Romy and
Michele she had a pretty shitty experience in high school thanks to the
“A-Group” lead by Christie Masters (Julia Campbell) and her gaggle of dumb
cheerleader friends. Heather also had a big time crush on big time nerd Sandy
Frink (Alan Cummings), who had a big time crush on Michele.
Romy
and Michele decide they can’t just show up to the reunion as their
underachieving selves. They have to show up with new fancy jobs and hot
boyfriends, but the best they can do is borrowing a fancy car and making their
own outfits. So they hit the road, come up with the idea to tell everyone they
invented Post-its, have a falling out, and then reach the reunion. Not
surprisingly the Post-it scheme doesn’t work out, but the good news is they
prove to Christie Masters and her bimbo jock husband Billy Christiansen that
maybe their lives turned out for the better - even if they didn’t invent
Post-its and get called out on it in front of everyone at the reunion. But then
here comes Sandy Frink to save the day, showing up in a dang helicopter. Surprise!
- turns out the nerd everyone restlessly made fun of in high school is super
rich now and comes to the reunion to win Michele's heart with a dance - which
Michele only agrees to if Romy can join them because it’s not Michele and
Sandy’s high school reunion, it’s Romy and Michele’s high school reunion. Who
knew Cyndi Lauper's "Time After
Time" would turn out to be the perfect tune for three weirdos to do
an even weirder interpretive dance to in front of everyone they went to high
school with? Romy and Michele are truly ride-or-die best friends who end up
with their own little clothing boutique in L.A. funded by Sandy. In the end
they get the life that is perfect for them. 
This
may come as a surprise but Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion is
based on a play called Ladies Room by Robin Schiff. Schiff, a member of
the Groundlings, also wrote the screenplay for and co-produced the movie. Lisa
Kudrow played Michele on stage before she did in the movie, maybe that’s why
she is so perfect for this part. She lived with Michele for longer than just
the filming of the movie. Dim-witted dry humor saturates the film; it sneaks
into every scene. Like when Romy asks Heather, who literally has a cigarette in
her hand every time you see her, if anyone has ever told her that smoking can
kill you, Heather stares right back at her and responds dripping with sarcasm
and a little bit of sincerity “No. No one. Thank You.” Romy goes on thinking
she had maybe made a difference in Heather's life, and Heather just goes about
her life. It’s what makes the movie great, everything just rolls off Romy and
Michele, they don’t take themselves or anything they do too seriously.
- Anna Lathem
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