Universal PicturesLet's start out by saying anything Tina Fey and Amy Poehler do together will always draw a crowd, whether they're hosting the Golden Globes, reuniting on Saturday Night Live or appearing in a movie together.
Sisters is the dynamic duo's latest project together, but this time Poehler and Fey are swapping roles. Unlike Baby Mama, Poehler is the well-to-do character while Fey plays the degenerate mess. Does the role reversal work? Read these reviews to see what critics are saying about the comediennes' newest project, which is going up against Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Variety writes, "Even under the ludicrous circumstances, Poehler is oddly touching as a lifelong wallflower finally trying on the debauchery she denied herself in her teens; meanwhile, it's a treat to see Fey, so practiced in flustered type-A mode, hang loose as a sorely overgrown adolescent being overtaken by her own daughter."
In summary, "Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are in smashing comic form in this pleasingly ludicrous women-behaving-badly farce."
A.V. Club lauds both Fey and Poehler in the movie but also credit the movie's supporting roles. "Highlights include Rachel Dratch, who's always great playing a sad sack, and here is no exception; Kate McKinnon as the crazy-eyed half of a flannel-clad lesbian power couple; and Maya Rudolph as Kate's high-school enemy, whose life is as sad as everyone hopes their teenage nemesis' life will be," the review reads. "There are also some men, like John Leguizamo, Bobby Moynahan, and John Cena, who seems to be following the Dwayne Johnson 10-Step Plan To Crossover Success with his recent string of comedic roles. All are capable, but the women steal the show in this one."
Forbes calls Sisters a classic comedy. "Sisters is an old-school laugh riot, with a parade of talented comedians scoring here, there and everywhere. It's funnier than Star Wars: The Force Awakens and sexier than Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip...Bobby Moynihan and Maya Rudolph are the arguably MVPs, and John Cena again shows himself to be a winning low-key comic presence. That Fey and Poehler have an immediate bond and chemistry goes without saying since they are obviously close in real life, but they really do make the most of Paula Pell's witty screenplay."
Entertainment Weekly gives it a solid B. "What's lacking in the concept is mostly made up for, though, by the loony chemistry of its leads, two comedic life partners whose onscreen bond feels as familiar and close as actual sisters'. It helps that they've each cast themselves against type, or at least the ones they last played opposite each other in 2008's Baby Mama."
The Verge applauds Fey and Poehler's real-life relationship for making success on the screen. "But there's another dynamic at work, and it's ultimately Sisters' big differentiator: the Fey-Poehler partnership. The SNL and Second City alums' longtime offscreen friendship informs their onscreen chemistry, and boosts their status as awards-presenter favorites and frequent cultural commentators. Fey and Poehler do their mean-girl sniping publicly, so everyone else can feel like part of their bestie relationship, joining in on the cutting whispers aimed at the rest of the world. There's always been something pleasantly and counterintuitively inclusive about their intimacy."
Will you see Sisters?
(E! and Universal Pictures are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)