ROMY AND MICHELE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION

US, 1997, 92 minutes, Colour.
Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Garofalo, Alan Cumming, Julia Campbell, Camryn Manheim, Justin Theroux.
Directed by David Mirkin.

A surprisingly entertaining comedy, tongue-in-cheek satire, rather surprisingly subtle for an American comedy of two dizzy women, happy in life despite being on the outer at high school, who decide to go to their ten year reunion and pretend that they are successful businesswomen with odd results. It's a bit like Clueless ten years on. Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow, though too glamorous to be believable as airheads, give clever performances. Janeane Garofalo turns up to give another deadpan interpretation of a cranky woman with negative images of herself (and a crass mouth to match). Of course, things turn out all right at the end, the snooty A group humiliated and our heroines vindicated. Smart for a film about airheads.

1.The popularity of the film in its time? Now? For American audiences? Female audiences?

2.1997, California, jobs, offices, ordinary life? The contrast with 1987, high school, the flashbacks? Tucson, the high school, the reunion? The musical score and the range of popular songs of the 1980s?

3.Romy and Michele, ten years after high school, flatting together, Michele without a job, Romy and her work as getting vehicles, secretary, her relationship with the men and the valets? Ordinary life? At home? Being satisfied with their lives? Their way of speaking, how intelligent – not?

4.The encounter with Heather Mooney, her manner, her language? Her success with cigarettes, cigarette paper? Smoking? The encounter with Romy, the news about the reunion?

5.Talking about the reunion, wanting to go? Looking at the year book, looking at their photograph album – and the flashbacks? Romy and Michele together at school, on the outer, at the dances, the prom, alone? The encounter with the A Group? Their snobbishness? Michele and her avoiding Sandy Frink? Romy and her looking at Billy? The discussions with the A Group – and sticking the magnets on Michele’s back? Sandy and his helping her out? The unhappy memories, the happy memories?

6.Sandy Frink, gawky, devoted to Michele? Heather and her wanting to talk to him, go out with him? The contrast with Billy, football, with Christie, under her thumb?

7.The preparations for the trip? Losing weight, the exercises, Romy and her trying to get a date? Michele and her job interviews, her indiscretions with the woman and the suitability of her clothes, not wanting to work in the second-hand shop? Their failure? The idea to go as businesswomen? Trying to work out what they invented? The plans?

8.The trip, dressing as businesswomen, going to the diner and the bewilderment of the woman at the counter? Their falling out, the argument about who invented what and how?

9.The surprise of Michele’s dream? Arriving, the encounter with the A Group, Christie becoming a weather girl? Sandy and his wealth, the limousine? Romy and the encounter with Billy, the dance? The continued clash between the two? Michele’s dream about old age, them all as old, Romy dying, the argument on the phone? Michele and her waking up, not wanting to be clashing with Romy?

10.Romy, the encounter with Christie, the women pregnant? Lisa and her working for Vogue? Romy and the encounter with Billy, womanising, sending him up to the motel room and keeping him waiting as he did her in the past? Revenge on Christie? Michele and Sandy Frink, the helicopter, his wealth, his continued devotion to her? The discussions about their job? Heather arriving, giving the game away? The humiliation? Michele assertive, standing up for Romy? Their deciding to stay, change their dresses, the A Group criticising them, Lisa praising them, everybody joining in?

11.Heather, her being rude to Toby, Toby and her background of interviews and photos? Always being insulted? Heather and her realisation that everybody criticised and was hard on others at school? Her joy in finding that she was hard on Toby, signing her year book? Her not wanting to be with Sandy? The background of the past with the cowboy, his approaching her, his stammer, her tough stance, their going off together?

12.The upshot of the reunion? Lisa supporting the fashion? Six months later, their shop, customers, a dress for Heather? Their folding scarves – and happy with their life?

13.The lesson learnt, about happiness in life, being oneself, not pretending – a light moral for this kind of comedy? And its ironies?