‘Sick Girl’ Review: Warning – Nina Dobrev’s ‘Sick Cancer’ ‘Comedy’ May Be Harmful

If you want to make a so-called “funny” comedy about cancer, you better know how to do it. Unfortunately, writer/director Jennifer Cram fails to bring out the best in her first feature in these genres.

sick girl Starring Nina Dobrev Wren, a rather disorganized 30-year-old woman whose spontaneous little lie about her cancer spiraling out of control, it would take a satirist like Adam McKay to bring this misguided comedy just more than Standing Legs more scary if funny , and Cram, who was previously in the cast, just can’t find the right tone to make it work. The premise may have sounded good on paper, but it quickly turns into a one-joke idea that far outweighs its value. “Lionsgate” opens this Friday in theaters and on VOD, though the latter will likely die on its own.

We begin with a flashback to better times and younger days, meeting a seemingly inseparable quartet of BFF girls in their carefree teenage days. Some 15 years later, the seams are starting to show, especially with Wren, who drinks too much, smokes too much, works a dead-end job and clearly no longer feels connected to her core group of “lifelong” friends, who only grow more by the minute. of an outsider at the minute. is compared to the others, including Laurel (Sherry Cola), who is now more concerned with staying in shape and being men; Jill (Hayley Magnus) deals with family problems; and Cece (Stephanie Koenig), who takes care of raising her troubled daughter.

As she watches all the notes slip away, Wren, in a desperate plea for attention, blurts out that she has cancer. She doesn’t, but it becomes a short-lived lie that will consume her, culminating in a doctor’s visit where she desperately urges the doctor to possibly find cancer, which turns her lie into the truth. This scene is actually funny, but the way the cancer lie is dragged out, even though her friends ask, “What kind of cancer?”, she only makes things worse by exclaiming that it’s “Tonsil cancer!” oh dear The lie soon catches on to her parents (Wendi McLendon Covey, Dan Bakkedahl), who can’t understand why she never told them. they, and even contacts a support group, where she meets real cancer patient Leo (Brandon Mychal Smith) and seems to be on her way to a promising relationship, which is again based on the big lie.

There are real-life stories of people faking serious life-threatening illnesses to gain sympathy and even money through GoFundMe-like events. Movies and TV shows have also exploited this type of material, but more often than not it was the fault of the main character believe They die, but this “comedy” feels mean as Wren endures it while the people around her show genuine compassion and concern, even to the point that her best friend shaves her hair in solidarity, which turns out to be a bridge is too far The latter is supposed to get a lot of laughs, but it just feels pathetic. Sure, it’s lip service to blame Wren for doing such a thing to those around her, but that’s only after the idea has been extensively exploited for comedic purposes. Dobrev is a talented actress, but it just doesn’t make sense why she let it all come to this point. Oh wait, I know Cram should make a 98 minute movie about this. Most of the supporting cast is fairly one-dimensional, with the lovely Cola making a bigger impact earlier this year in another girl-bonding comedy from Lionsgate. joyride. Smith actually becomes the most recognizable person in the entire company, but that’s not praise.

Producers are Sean McEwen, Jessica Wilde, Cassidy Lunnen and John Papsidera.

Title: sick girl
Distributor: Lion’s Gate
Release date: 20 October 2023 – Cinemas and VOD
Director/Screenplay: Jennifer Kram
Form: Nina Dobrev, Sherry Cola, Hayley Magnus, Stephanie Koenig, Dan Bakkedahl, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Brandon Mychal Smith
Time: 1 hour and 38 minutes
Assessment: R