12/11/2020
Drew Barrymore stars as both a famous comic actor and her on-set substitute in a comedy directed by Jamie Babbit.
In theory,
Four Lions and
But I'm a Cheerleader, plus some excellent TV episodes for
Silicon Valley and
Russian Doll). There are a ton of names in cameo roles (Ellie Kemper, Andrew Rannells and Lena Dunham to name but a few), all enlisted in what could have been a smart rethink of those sclerotic comedy tropes: the lookalike-role-swap and the ambitious-understudy-who eclipses-the-star.
Alas, it is a weirdly inert, obstinately unfunny work, starting from the opening montage of unconvincing pratfalls by Barrymore right through to the ironic comeuppance conclusion visible from outer space. It's not so much that the end result crosses a line somewhere in taste — in fact, it could do with more vulgarity — or that the basic premise is entirely awful. Rather, an ineffable joylessness suffuses the proceedings, making if feel like a weak, mainstream sitcom of old that isn't quite finished, waiting for a laugh track to be dubbed in.