There are a select few people on the planet who can make us laugh with just the subtlest of expressions. Don Knotts in full Mr. Furley mode. Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean. And Kim Jong Un, well, always.
Oh, and any character ever performed by Kristen Wiig.
Sadly, we don’t have her funny face to keep us in stitches every week after she ended her stint on Saturday Night Live, but the talented actress is starting to pop up in more movies and we’ll be there for every one.
Her latest, Girl Most Likely, is a quirky little film in the Little Miss Sunshine mold of dysfunctional family hijinks. She plays Imogene, a failed New York playwright whose desperate attempt to get her boyfriend’s attention lands her back in her Ocean City, New Jersey childhood house with her eccentric Mom (Annette Bening) and her sleezy new boyfriend (Matt Dillon), the crustacean-infatuated brother (Christopher Fitzgerald) who never left home, and a sexy boarder (Darren Criss) now renting her old bedroom.
Wiig plays the quintessential sad sack with subtle humility, never taking her portrayal to the point of complete absurdity. Though the film is uneven in tone and pace, every nuance of Wiig’s performance and many of the frequently uncomfortable situations elicit moments of genuinely hearty laughter.
And one of the only things we look forward to more in life than Kristen Wiig making us chuckle is Darren Criss taking off his shirt.
In Girl Most Likely, thankfully, we get plenty of both.
Girl Most Likely
Opens in select theaters today
www.girlmostlikelymovie.com
