‘Wine Country’

It’s 90 minutes of day drinking, dildos, sketchy wine knowledge and snake bites in ‘Wine Country’ (2019) – an entirely ridiculous but heartwarming comedy that brings something a little different to the chick flick genre.

Directed and starring Amy Poehler alongside Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey, Ana Gasteyer and Tina Fey, the film presents a comedic ensemble navigating the mire of ageing, knee transplants, job loss, crappy husbands, cancer scares and exclusion with punchlines and verve during a 50th birthday trip to the Napa Valley.

Refreshing in its zoom in on an age that society traditionally deems barely worth talking about, particularly when it comes to women, ‘Wine Country’ gives us the wrinkles, some reality and the gift of enduring female friendship.

Bound together by a waitressing job they shared as young adults, the girl crew reunites in a luxurious Airbnb which comes with a paella-making chef played by Jason Schwartzman.

Though it’s supposed to be a lowkey affair celebrating a woman who isn’t all that thrilled to be turning 50, things quickly escalate into the realm of illegal substances and tarot card sessions that read them all to filth.

Fun, funny with Rudolph stealing the show as a goofy, wisecracking mum whose cheer glosses over a nerve-wracking wait for medical results, ‘Wine Country’ sees its entertaining ensemble resolve their various and hidden issues in close quarters and with heart.

If middle-aged women goofing off, getting real and rolling their eyes at wine snobs is your thing, so is ‘Wine Country’. Mind the minor miss that is some dreck about millennials and enjoy with a glass of the good stuff.