This movie is, plain and simple, laugh-out-loud hilarious. It takes a premise normally reserved for guys and turns it on its head, proving that women can be just as crass, hilarious, and h***y as their male counterparts.
The film opens in 1992 with the three leading ladies (Parker Posey, Amy Poehler, and Rachael Dratch) performing a heartfelt rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” at their college talent show, which is met with indifference and derision.
Fast forward 15 years. Becky (Posey) now works for a Sarah Palin-esque Senator; Gail (Poehler) is a dog trainer; and Judy (Dratch, who scripted the story with director Ryan Shiraki) is planning a wedding to a fiance (Seth Myers) who has more than a few secrets in his closet. When Becky gets assigned to tail the Senator’s daughter (Amber Tamblyn) on spring break in South Padre, Gail and Judy decide to join her in an attempt to relive the spring break they never had. Not only do the women make up for lost time, they also manage to discover some important things about themselves and their relationships in a manner that puts some of the recent male-centered comedies to shame.
Posey gallantly assumes the role of the straight gal, allowing Dratch and Poehler to work their comedic magic in ever more hilarious set pieces, culminating in their opportunity to relive their 1992 glory days on stage in front of hundreds of drunk spring breakers.
This movie was featured during the opening weekend of the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival, and it brought down the packed house at the historic Neptune Theatre. Due to the nature of the screening, we were treated to a Q&A with Dratch, producer Larry Kennar and director Ryan Shiraki, during which it was revealed that the film may never get a proper release because, and I paraphrase their words, the studio didn’t think there was an audience for a female-centered comedy.
That is bullshit. This movie is not only funny, but it also features three(!) strong central characters (that just happen to be women) who could match Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson or any other male comedy star joke for joke and still have comic energy left to burn. “Spring Breakdown” is just too funny to not be seen by a wider audience.
But, alas. As it turns out, “Spring Breakdown” will be receiving nothing more than a DVD release, so you won’t be able to enjoy this one on the big screen. So do yourself a favor and put it at the top of your Netflix queue and hope these ladies get a chance to make another film soon.
