ROMY AND MICHELE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION
A thin comedy better left for discerning adults at home.
Should You Watch It?
This is a thin, uneven comedy built around two best friends who want the success and social status they never found after high school. Its central moral — be yourself, do what you love, and let opportunity follow — has some appeal.
But the humor quickly goes stale. Some jokes are surreal and confusing, and the movie cannot decide whether it wants to be realistic or a fairy tale. The R rating also comes from excessive foul language that could have been cut for its apparent teenage-girl audience.
The film has no nudity or violence, and only a brief moment of sexual talk, but its overall content rating is still −2. Watch at home only if you are a discerning adult willing to weigh the language and other concerns.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESRomy and Michele have been best friends since high school and roommates in Los Angeles ever since. Romy works at a Beverly Hills Jaguar repair shop, while Michele is between jobs. When they learn their 10th high school reunion is only two weeks away, they decide they must become thinner, find boyfriends, and get good jobs.
When those plans fail, the friends choose to pretend they are successful — and hope their own fashion designs can finally win the respect of their former classmates.
Is It Any Good?
Two stars means this comedy has a simple, understandable premise but does not make enough of it. The leads are attractive, and clever camera tricks show what their high school life was like. The colorful fashion designs also provide a visual spark.
Still, the CLUELESS-imitating demeanor quickly grows tiresome. The script says little about the women’s post-high-school lives, making it difficult to root for them. Some humor is completely surreal, including a highly stylized dance sequence and helicopter landings. The movie’s uncertain tone and implausible fashion premise further weaken it.
The Worldview
The film presents a pagan worldview centered on young women who want to be successful. It measures success through careers, money, romantic attention, and the respect of former classmates. Its eventual message — be yourself, do what you love, and opportunities will follow — is positive as far as it goes, but it offers no deeper account of providence, service, or responsibility.
The story does challenge deception and status-seeking. Romy and Michele try to appear more successful than they are, only to face the collapse of that image. Yet the film still treats personal fulfillment and social recognition as the main goals, rather than directing ambition toward loving God and neighbor.
The performances are uneven. Kudrow seems to be playing the same kind of role associated with Friends, while Sorvino seems to be performing beneath the level of her earlier award-winning work. The humor and characterizations also contribute to the movie’s shallow treatment of success.
Scripture points beyond the film’s promise that doing what you love will bring opportunity: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Pagan worldview of young women who want to be successful; 21 obscenities & 10 profanities; woman hit by car; some sexual talk; upper male nudity & revealing costumes; alcohol use; smoking; and, lying, deception & lewd gestures
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Romy and Michele want their classmates to see them as successful. How does Scripture define a life that truly matters?
Mark 8:36 · Colossians 3:23The friends use deception to create a new image for themselves. Why is truthfulness important even when honesty costs us socially?
Ephesians 4:25 · Proverbs 12:22The film says to be yourself and do what you love. What is helpful in that message, and what does it leave out about serving others?
Philippians 2:3–4 · Galatians 5:13How can disappointment about work, money, or status shape the way we see ourselves?
Matthew 6:19–21 · 1 Peter 5:6–7The Final Word
This comedy has a worthwhile message about being yourself, but its stale humor, uneven tone, and excessive language limit its appeal. Because of the −2 content rating, WAIT FOR HOME — ADULTS ONLY. For another option, see.
