I watched Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar over the weekend. I wasn’t going to because it’s $20 to rent, but so many people were talking it up on Twitter and I felt like turning my mind off. Oh my gawd, you guys – it is so stupid. And I mean that in the absolute best way possible. I simply felt good when I’d finished it. Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo clearly made a movie just to crack themselves up and everyone in it came along for the ride. I’m convinced they didn’t even write a role for Damon Wayans, Jr. They just told him what day to show up and he did the rest. I have a whole new love for Jamie Dornan. I won’t recommend it at $20, but check it out when it drops to $4-$6, it’s just the right kind of silly. It’s exactly the kind of thing I would need if I had small kids and needed to mentally escape for a few hours. It sounds like Kristen needs that now that she has 15-month-old twins, Shiloh and Luna. When one is quarantined at home with small kids, you have to get pretty creative in finding ways to check out. While on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Kristen told James that her current reprieve is to sit on her curb for a bit, just to get a break.
Kristen Wiig will admittedly do whatever it takes to get even a brief break from her young twins.
While stopping by The Late Late Show with James Corden on Monday, the actress, 47, and her Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar costar Annie Mumolo talked about parenting during the pandemic. Wiig — who welcomed twins with husband Avi Rothman via surrogate — said her two babies are about 15 months old now.
“How is it? Do you ever get a break?” asked Corden, a dad of three.
“Um, I go outside and sit on the curb sometimes,” Wiig responded with a laugh. “Because I’m afraid, I don’t wanna go on a full walk because then sometimes I feel like, ‘Oh, I should be there.’ But I need to get out, so I sit on the curb. Or just walk around in the driveway and FaceTime Annie.”
“It feels like a vacation when you just go out the door,” added Mumolo, who has a 14- and 10-year-old.
“You forget,” Wiig joked, “a walk really helps. But then when you’re in the house, you’re like, ‘I can’t be saved.’ “
I know she’s kidding, but I 100% remember those days. I used to walk our Pomeranian. He had his own dog door and enough back yard to exercise given he was the size of an Ugg boot, but I leashed him up and walked him all over that neighborhood several times a day just to get away. And for those moments when I thought I’d snap, I opened my altar to Elmo and let him preach from the Gospel of Good Friends to my children for 30 minutes while I stood on the back step and cried as if my hair stylist had just retired. Annie, whose kids are 10 and 14, said she’d left for James’ show while the dogs and kids were running amok, and she just shut the door behind her and walked. I’ve known those days too.
James asked Kristen and Annie about Bridesmaids, which they wrote. He wanted to know if they knew it would be a hit. They told a funny story about how projections had indicated it would tank and they didn’t believe it when people told them it was taking off in the box office. I didn’t care for Bridesmaids, but I liked the cast enough that I was happy it did as well as it did. Maybe the Bridesmaids sequel could be Moms. All the characters living on the same block, and the movie is just them talking to each other as they sit on their curbs hiding from their kids.
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is like a Muppet movie, but all the Muppets are played by humans. It’s wonderfully silly. pic.twitter.com/9UMLmeNd97
— Chris Evangelista (@cevangelista413) February 10, 2021
Photo credit: Avalon, Twitter, Getty and YouTube
I have been reading about people enjoying the film on Twitter as well. They say it is just enjoyable fluff.
I think I will go ahead and rent it. We can all use a little fluff right now.
I kind of balked when I saw it was $20 to rent, but I’m sort of leaning towards getting it too. We don’t get enough women-led comedies, and I could use some silliness.
We watched it Sunday morning and went through the day smiling.
In a few years if we watch it again, we’ll probably wonder why we liked it so much. For right now, It’s really the right escape.
I know others have said it but have to chime in- the $20 is really worth it, purely for how silly and escapist it is. We watched it twice which I recommend to be able to get the full experience- there’s so many details and callbacks that we didn’t notice first time round. It’s so quotable and stupid, my new favourite movie- completely didn’t expect it!
Sitting on the front step for a few minutes of peace must be a a time honored tradition of parenting.
Amen Sista! Some days I did not want to go back in the house!
There is nothing that reveals more that we evolved with the intention of living in small, clustered tribes where all hands worked together than raising toddler and infant age children. We just decided somewhere along the way it was somehow smarter to section us all off into individual households to do the toughest job possible. 9_9
It’s the hair that’s been cracking me up on all the posters. They nailed that look of an older white lady of a certain age. My grandmother had that hair for the whole time I knew her lol.
I have a friend who teaches parenting classes for teen moms and dads. She once told me that one of the first things they’re taught is that, when the baby is stressing you out, just put him in a safe place and step back. Go sit on the stoop for a few minutes. If someone else is present to watch him, take a short walk. Her students tell her all the time that following that one rule has prevented them from venting their frustration on their children. We should probably tell ALL parents that it’s OK to do that, especially because there are plenty of people who will try to shame them for leaving a child alone for even a moment.
Also, “cried as if my hair stylist had just retired”? SO RELATABLE. I’m a white girl with tight, almost Afro-textured curls. I’ve only found one stylist who knows what to do with it, and when he retires, I might just start shaving my head.
My mom has given me lots of great advice in general, and specifically related to parenting, but one of the BEST things she ever told me was that no baby ever died from crying and it was okay to put the baby in their crib (or another safe place) and just walk away for a minute or two. I had PPD with my first (didn’t know it, looking back it was BAD) and this was my saving grace many, many days.
I tell mine now (they’re 8 and 13) “I am going to take a shower and I don’t want you to open the door unless you are bleeding or the house is on fire.” The 8 year-old is the one who needs to hear it, lol. I make it through without an interruption about half the time. 😉
I don’t have kids but Hecate, I love your writing. A Pomeranian the size of an Ugg boot, cried like your hairstylist just retired, the altar and gospel of Elmo haha. That made me laugh.
I’ll watch this movie once it’s available on streaming and I don’t have to pay for it.
Agree!
How can you not like bridesmaids?? Such a great hilarious movie. I really like Kristin. And I’m excited that her writing partner Annie is getting a bigger role in the film this time.
I can clearly recall my Mom, who at the time had 4 kids under 10 years old, taking a cup of coffee and going to sit out on the front steps. We were told “I am waiting on the mailman, you kids stay put in the house, and watch your Bugs Bunny cartoons. Anybody causes any trouble, no tv for a week.” lol Mom knew our weak spot. No cartoons? shut up you heard her, shut up!!
lol
And we all grew up to be job holding Adults and “Nobody is gonna end up in jail on MY watch!”
Good job Moms!
Same! My mom would take a vodka tonic in the den at the end of the day on “those days” and tell us, “I don’t want to hear or see you (unless you’re bleeding or the house is on fire.)” Her tone let you know she MEANT IT!!
Dear God, 47 with 15 month old twins??? I am dying over here at 43 with a 2.5 year old that still doesn’t sleep thru on most nights. I don’t see how she is doing it!