Justin's Rating: Emily, this one's for you!
Justin's Review: A lot of times, how much you enjoy a movie depends on who you see it with. With a best friend, and you may be quoting a movie for life. With a first date, it could be forever memorable (I still am soft-hearted for Timecop, an awful movie that I saw on a first date). With Romy and Michele, I saw it with my family.

Actually, they were just travelling through the room. I rented this movie on the recommendation of a friend, and while I watched it in my family's living room, my brother, mother, and my mom's friend all stopped to see this movie as well. "This is so STUPID!" my brother said. "Justin, what kind of college education are you getting?" asked my mother. They acted like I freakin' MADE the movie. I just cringed and bore through it, vowing never to see this dumb, blonde movie again in my life. Fortunately, my therapy was successful, and I once again returned to the world of Romy (Mira Sorvino) and Michele (Lisa Kudrow).

This film is some sort of sick tribute to best friends. While most people have grown up and become responsible, Romy and Michele are still living together, watching Pretty Woman, and being blissfully ignorant of their lack of success. One day, they get an invitation to their ten-year high school reunion and decide to go. After a slew of flashbacks to their high school years (some funny, some poignant), they decide to act successful in order to impress everyone else at the reunion.

Looking like somebody's sick idea of Barbie girls, Romy and Michele romp around in hideous outfits (deemed "cool" by some of my women friends). Their constant bombardment of idiocy is nearly intolerable, except for two factors. One is their love of 80s music, which dominates the movie's soundtrack. The other is a classic role by pout queen Janeane Garofalo, who is heavily scarred from high school snubbery.

On one level, Romy and Michele is a commentary on social classes of high school (something that's never been done in movies before, I'm sure) and how people never change, they're just misunderstood. Sure, the jerks in their high school are really mean and cruel, but it's hard to side with our heroes, particularly when they act like little kids. It's amusing, but in the same way that small dogs that vomit are amusing. You think it's funny, as long as they ain't doing it on your rug. Your rug being your television set. [WARNING! WARNING! METAPHOR OVERBOARD! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!]

So, it really wasn't as bad second time around. Helps to have friends by your side to laugh and roll eyes at this film. Lead characters aside, I don't think a ten-year reunion is something much of us look forward to... and seeing a movie where people finally prove their worth to those who looked down on their potential, well, it's satisfying.

Didja Notice?
Their wardrobe in their closet
Michele's "which-one-will-i-have-sex-with-at-the-reunion" game
Michele's dream description of the creation of post-it notes
Their work-out outfits
References to Quentin Tarantino: Big Kahuna Burger, Red Apple cigarettes

The Movie Store!
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion: Movie [VHS]
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion: Movie [DVD]
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion: Soundtrack [CD]
More Music From Romy and Michele's High School Reunion: Soundtrack [CD]

Intermission!
Apparently, this film wasn't cranked out by sixth-graders, but was based on a play by Robin Schiff, under the title "The Ladies' Room".

Groovy Quotes:

Romy: Swear to God, sometimes I wish I was a lesbian.
Michele: Do you want to try, to see if we are?
Romy: What? Yeah, right, Michelle. Just the idea of having sex with another woman creeps me out. But if we're still single at 30, ask me again.
Michele: Okay.

Christy: So, Mi-chelle! What are you up to?
Michele: Actually I inveneted a special kind of glue.
Christy: Oh really? Well then I´m sure you wouldn´t mind giving us a detailed account of how exactly you concocted this miracle glue, would you?
Michele: No. Um, well, ordinarily when you make glue first you need to thermoset your resin and then after it cools you have to mix in a Poxide which is really just a fancy schmancy name for any simple oxyginated adhesive, right? And then I thought maybe, just maybe, you could raise the viscosity by adding a complex glucose derivative during the emulsification process and it turns out I was right.

Michele: Did you lose weight?
Romy: Actually, I have been trying this new fat free diet I invented. All I've had to eat for the past six days are gummy bears, jelly beans, and candy corns.
Michele: God, I wish I had your discipline.

Michele: Oh my God, you did it!
Romy: Yeah, I did.
Michele: What did you have to do?
Romy: I had to give everyone in the service department hand jobs.
Michele: Well, while you were doing that, I made us a tape of all the nostalgic songs from high school to get us in the mood.
Romy: Michele?
Michele: What?
Romy: Do you really think I would do that? For a car? Just get in.
Michele: O.K.

Romy: Would you excuse me? I cut my foot before and my shoe is filling up with blood.

Michele: You look so good with blond hair and black roots its like not even funny.

Michele: Remember the prom? You got so thin by then.
Romy: Oh, I know. I was so lucky getting mono. That was like the best diet ever.

Michele: You know, even though we've watched Pretty Woman like thirty-six times, I never get tired of making fun of it.

Romy: Heather, um, has anyone ever told you that smoking can kill you?
Heather: No. No one. Thank you.

If you liked this movie, try these:
Dumb and Dumber
Grosse Pointe Blank

Soundtrack Review: Good 80s tunes, including "She Blinded Me With Science", "Addicted To Love", "Time After Time", "Footloose", "Turning Japanese", and "Cruel Summer".