Wine Country: A Hilarious, Tearful Journey with Feedback and Wine

The Netflix comedy Wine Country stars Saturday Night Live alumni and real-life friends: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey, Maya Rudolph, and Ana Gasteyer. The film is based on the real trips the ladies take for their 50th birthdays. The film is set in the beautiful Napa and appears that the making of the movie was more entertaining than the actual film. These women have such a strong bond and perfect comedic timing that I was expecting a little more edginess and looseness in the film. It is also the directorial debut of Amy Poehler


Dratch's character Rebecca is about to turn 50 so Poehler's high-strung Abby plans a trip to Napa to celebrate and reunite the friend group. The ladies have all gone their separate ways since working together at a pizza place in their twenties as waitresses. Rudolph is a stressed-out mother, Gayester plays a businesswoman addicted to her cellphone, Spivey is a germaphobe, and Pell plays a carefree Val looking for a hookup. They have all managed to stay connected to remind each other of the carefree lives they used to live.


Wine Country was written by Emily Spivey and Liz Cackowski with Amy Poeheler directing. It seems to have the perfect setup to be a killer comedy but the tone throughout the film is lost. It switches from outrageous, raunchy comedy to a reflection on midlife crisis's sprinkled with punchline jokes. The jokes seem lifeless as the film struggles to adopt a tone. It was hard to even force a laugh as I watched. I truly wanted to enjoy the film but instead, it made me think about entering adulthood as a woman. Tina Fey's cameo as the owner of the rental couldn't even save the film. Although my laughing was minimum it was entertaining to see these iconic ladies on screen interacting with each other for the first time in a long time.


There is a lot of drinking memorable lines used by the cast. Dratch's "Can I offer some feedback" and "Can I just say something" embody the theme of the realization of growing old with a group of friends. The phrase "things we say now" was also heartfelt. The ladies constantly repeated these to emphasize the midlife crisis as they realize they are no longer in that period where life is carefree and that have the responsibilities of jobs, kids and scary medical news. It makes you realize the importance of having a tight-knit group of friends who you can be yourself around and reconnect with after years of separation. The real-life friendship of these women is heavily seen throughout the film and you can see the fun they have together while deeply caring for one another.


I wanted to like this movie but found it hard to get through. I enjoyed seeing my favorite group of women on my laptop screen interacting together but would have loved more lively jokes and a stable plot. I would have preferred a documentary of the original trip this film was based on and see them in their natural state instead of adopting personas and having a written script. The film features plenty of drinking, friendship, and fighting. Wine Country leaves us with the message of sisterhood though I expected more from this group of smart-witted, complex women who are the leaders of comedy. I recommend this film if you are looking for something to watch on a girl's night with your closest friends.