There are certain movies that just need to be experienced, but that is not what I expected when I sat down for 'The Fabulous Four'. On paper what is sold as a film like 'Book Club' is just so much wilder than I could ever have anticipated.
'The Fabulous Four' follows four college friends reuniting for a wedding in Quay West. Marilyn (Bette Midler, 'The Addams Family', 'Hocus Pocus') who recently lost her husband, has found love yet again and has invited Alice (Megan Mullally, 'Dicks: The Musical', 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette') and Kitty (Sheryl Lee Ralph, TV's 'Abbot Elementary', 'The Come Back Trail') to join in her nuptials. But their other friend Lou (Susan Sarandon, 'Blue Beetle', 'Maybe I Do') has been distant ever since something happenes between her and the bride-to-be. She is tricked into going to the wedding, but once she finds out the truth tension only rises.
'THE FABULOUS FOUR' TRAILER
This could have been a fun little wedding movie for older audiences; with this excellent line-up of actors it shouldn't have been as bonkers as it was. A famous popstar, a weed dealer, a TikTokker and a doctor, the classic friendship group. I was expecting drinking, but the sheer amount of drug use for this genre of film was absolutely incredulous. There is a scene where three of the girls are parasailing but Sarandon gets seasick so they trick her into taking weed, causing her to have a trip and see a cat performing surgery. As the rest of the group are in the sky - singing 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' of course - she lets them loose and they crash onto the beach, unharmed. At another moment, someone steals a bike and Sarandon slings a sex toy at the thief. Another gem of a moment is when Midler is getting a lap dance at a strip club, and it turns out to be Lee Ralph's gay grandson!
It is truly a rollercoaster of a film. Each of these actors is in a different film.
That is only an amuse-bouche of what 'The Fabulous Four' gives us; it is truly a rollercoaster of a film. Each of these actors is in a different film - Sarandon is in drama, Midler reads each line like she is seeing them for the first time on cue cards. As always, Mullally is just so naturally funny and self-aware that she carries the film, and is an absolute delight. Lee Ralph is also somewhat aware but she gets the weed dealer character, which is just an odd plot point for this type of film. The third act bizarrely has Mullally missing; there are pictures on her on set but then in the film she isn't present. The final scene is a musical number, with Mullally playing a famous pop star, and she just shows up in the last couple seconds. It was such a baffling choice - she isn't even at the wedding.
'The Fabulous Four' is one of 2024's wildest adventures, and I mean that both negativity and positivity. I truly don't know how to describe it - I want to watch again and again to understand it, I need to interview everyone who was on set, I must know how we got here. It comes with my highest recommendation; you just have to see it to get the full wild experience.