I Can’t Stop Thinking About This Scene From ‘Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar’

Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo‘s absurd new comedy is absurd

There’s a scene in the new comedy Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar that comes out of nowhere, and this is a movie full of strange moments. The scene is an unexpected song-and-dance number (which are the best kind) performed by golden hunk James Dornan, who is probably most famous for playing a kinky sex god in the film of adaptation of the bestselling erotic thriller Fifty Shades Of Grey, a book that taught America to love light butt play.

Dornan, of course, isn’t even the star of this movie. The stars are Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, collaborating as writers for the first time since their hit Bridesmaids, and they’re both the Star and Barb, respectively, in the title, a pair of beatific midwestern besties who go on a tropical adventure to Vista Del Mar, a beachfront paradise in Florida where fruity drinks and shrimp are plentiful.

The movie is ridiculous and some of the bits feel dated, like Wiig’s turn as the movie’s Bond-like baddie who reminded me of Will Ferrell’s Mustafa from 2001’s Zoolander. Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar, or BASGTVDM, is co-produced by Ferrell and his longtime partner-in-comedy Adam McKay, and their aging college humor fingerprints are noticeable.

But then the broad comedy is interrupted by something truly absurd, like a lingering shot of a bowl of hot dog soup, or a talking crab, or a randomly and thoroughly satisfying Andy Garcia cameo. Oh, and I didn’t even mention newcomer Reyn Doi’s performance as Evil Wiig’s knee-high henchman Yoyo. I don’t know anything about that kid but he’s a natural.

There are critics who are dooming Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Ray to cult movie status but I disagree: BASGTVDM is the mainstream blockbuster of my heart. It made me feel a little lighter, a little happier. Watching it felt like being gently lobotomized by sunbeams.

When the movie works, it works because Wiig and Mumolo have real chemistry, you can tell they make each other laugh and you can’t manufacture that kind of charm. It also helps that their characters are drawn with love and humanity. They’re a couple of good-hearted ding-dongs who can just casually laugh off a hallucinogen-fueled threesome the morning after. They love all the good things in life, like decorative seashells. Everything else is just extra frosting on the bundt cake.

And that includes Dornan, who steals his musical number, and also, every other scene he’s in, as a forlorn henchman who can’t get the woman he loves to commit (that woman is, of course, Wiig’s villain.) He’s absolutely hilarious strutting and leaping like a Broadway dancer while singing his guts out to a bunch of seagulls. The song is called ‘Edgar’s Prayer’ and it actually slaps, as the kid says. It’s a torch song full of yearning with a fist-bumping beat underneath.

I think one reason Dornan works so well is the same reason Leslie Nielsen was popular in The Naked Gun movies. Nielsen had two careers: his first was a pretty serious leading man and the second was as a deeply silly, permanently straight-faced clown. James Dornan has some of Nielsen’s energy, which is a high compliment. He’s handsome and fearless and willing to look like a fool.

I just can’t stop thinking about Dornan’s Fred Astaire routine. It’s not even my favorite scene in the movie but it’s the one I can’t shake. It haunts me. I mean, the dude is committed. Bravo, sexy man.

You can rent or buy Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar wherever you like to buy or rent movies and stuff like that. Meanwhile, listen to the catchy song he sings: