By Jodi Bogert
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are at it again in “Sisters,” making most people wish they hosted the Golden Globes instead of Ricky Gervais. Every 40 or 50 years, a comedic duo will come along. The 2000s has Fey and Poehler. The two women are soulmates, incomplete without the other. Their namesakes together even have a nice ring to it.
Maura Ellis (Amy Poehler), a nurse, divorcee, and overall good-doer, learns from her parents that they are selling their childhood house. It is up to Maura to tell the bad news to her sister Kate (Tina Fey), a stylist, single mom, and total trainwreck. Both women go back to their house and find that it is already sold to a couple of snobbish yuppies. It is up to them to clear out their stuff and be out of the house by the end of the weekend. However, both women take it on themselves to throw the best house party of their lives, especially for Maura who Kate thinks needs to let loose and hook-up with her crush, James (Ike Barinholtz), a local handyman.
Maura and Kate are characters that audiences have seen before, siblings who are polar opposites that bring out the best in each other. Meanwhile, the story does not really take shape, since most of the movie is dedicated to their wild house party, with a distinct 1980s feel and essence. Watching this movie makes the apparent flaws not matter. The party becomes an experience because everything goes wrong, and everyone attending goes wild. People smoke and snort everything but their shoes, the pool water turns blue, and Fey climbs up the stone wall above the fireplace. Their poor house will never look the same afterward. The party at Jake Ryan’s house in Sixteen Candles is not in the same league. Middle-aged adults learn how to be young again. This party rivals any experience they actually had in their youth, if they could only remember.
Comedians like Fey and Poehler don’t play roles; they play themselves playing a role. Normally, this is a horrible thing in acting. In this case, it makes everything better. The chemistry the two possess is perfect. They work off of each other, making it seem as if they are sisters in real life. If comedians are never considered to be serious actors, so be it. Comedians have something that some actors do not have. It is the natural pacing and timing that make Fey and Poehler so great, as with any great comedian.
Overall, the best part about this movie is that it does not take itself seriously at all. The audience has a great time laughing until they cry over a couple of sisters, who forget they are grown adults for one night. For the record, they are so grounded when their parents find out.