Girls' Night Out

Everything was actually going so well in journalist Meghan Miles' (Elizabeth Banks) life: she's worked her way up from the sticks to Los Angeles, is happily engaged, and has a job lined up as a news anchor at a national TV station. But all it takes is one day to ruin all that: Not only does Meghan learn that a competitor has landed the coveted job. Her fiancé has also made off with the dog and household goods. For Meghan there is now only one thing: She wants to bathe in self-pity in her almost empty apartment. But her best friends Rose (Gillian Jacobs) and Denise (Sarah Wright) won't let that happen. They persuade the frustrated Meghan to a girls' night out, where she is supposed to forget all her worries with the help of alcohol, dancing and maybe a nice male acquaintance. When Meghan wakes up a few hours later next to sympathetic bartender Gordon (James Marsden), it seems like the plan has worked. When she gets a voicemail telling her that she's landed her dream job after all, it's the perfect moment of happiness. But Meghan has no idea that on the way to the final audition she will face a real nightmare odyssey through L.A., which will change her life forever.

To say it right away: the German title of the new comedy by Steven Brill (Mr. Deeds) is a real deception. Because the girls' night out that is announced here only lasts about 5 minutes in total and is merely the starting point for the events that are much more aptly described in the original title Walk of Shame - in the US the colloquial description for the shame-filled walk home after a one night stand. So if you're expecting something like a cross between Sex and the City and a female Hangover variant, you'll certainly be disappointed. But if you just want to see some charming slapstick with a good leading lady, you've come to the right place.

Because Meghan's homecoming road of shame across L.A. is packed with chaotic and absurd situations, which has quite a few simple-minded, yet extremely effective laughs to offer. Whether the journalist is being chased by a horde of angry prostitutes, busting into the lair of drug dealers, challenging the chastity of a clergyman, or messing with a precocious boy, viewers will have a blast watching her slowly fall to the brink of insanity. Elizabeth Banks handles this role with a great deal of charm and a fair amount of self-mockery. It's also thanks to her that the comedy works very well, even in its numerous shallower moments, and remains entertaining throughout until the finale, which is nevertheless quite predictable.

Surely, Steven Brill is not necessarily a master of subtle humor. In fact, to say his girls' night out is silly and flat is an understatement in some scenes. And yet, he always manages to put the brakes on at the right moments, preventing the chaos from degenerating into unspeakable slapstick. The fact that he also almost completely does without the so often strained fecal humor, although this would offer itself here more than once, must also be credited to him. That makes this altogether very conventional comedy still far from a masterpiece. For an enjoyable visit to the cinema, however, that is enough. So if you have a soft spot for light US comedy and are not looking for more than 90 minutes of simply knitted fun, you can safely join this girls' night out. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp