Female Friendship Takes Center Stage in the Easygoing Wine Country

If you asked me what my dream vacation would consist of, touring Napa Valley with Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph would be pretty high on the list. And that’s essentially the vibe of this laid-back comedy directed by Amy Poehler, and written by fellow SNL veterans Emily Spivey and Liz Cackowski.

Wine Country follows six life-long best friends as they reunite in Napa to celebrate Rebecca’s (Rachel Dratch) 50th birthday. Friends since their waitress days at a pizza place in Chicago, the six women have grown up and grown apart, each with their own issues. Most of the satisfaction of watching this film comes from the effortless chemistry between the women, all SNL alumni who are clearly friends in real life (the film was, in fact, based on Rachel Dratch’s actual 50th birthday party in Napa).

Watching these women joke, sing, and riff off of one another is an easy way to spend 90 minutes, and all the women are deeply relatable. Abby (Poehler) is a type-A planner whose regimented itinerary has the weekend planned down to the minute. Rebecca is a warmhearted therapist blind to the problems in her own life, which include a crappy husband that her friends secretly hate. Naomi (Rudolph) is a mom hell-bent on avoiding some serious medical test results. Catherine (Ana Gasteyer) is a celebrity chef who prioritizes work over her friendships. Val (Paula Pell) has brand new knees and is looking for love, while Jenny (Emily Spivey) would have rather stayed at home (relatable).

The film doesn’t shy away from the issues that women face when they hit middle age: health problems, career woes, dead-end relationships. And while the women unpack their simmering issues over the weekend, there is never any mean-spiritedness involved. These friends clearly love and support one another, despite their problems. And these are highly relatable friendship dynamics: you will find yourself identifying with at least one woman in the group, and recognize your friends in several others.

The film has plenty of terrific running jokes, including the group’s complete disinterest in learning anything about wine and their annoyance with Devon, the chef/driver who “comes with the house.” There are also plenty of cameos, including Tina Fey as the brusque owner of the rental house and Cherry Jones as a pessimistic tarot card reader.

The action stays firmly on the group, without introducing any love interests, save for Val’s flirtation with their young waitress Jade (PEN15‘s Maya Erskine). It’s refreshing for the film’s only romantic subplot to center on the lesbian of the group.

If there’s any criticism to be had with the film, it’s that it isn’t quite as funny or as sharp as the actors it features. There are laughs to be had, but the humor never reaches the level of a Bridesmaids or a Girls Trip. The tone of the film keeps up the laid-back Napa Valley vibes, but the sweetness and the chemistry of its core crew make Wine Country an enjoyable watch.

(image: Colleen Hayes/Netflix)

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