‘Girl Group’ Review: Rebel Wilson Writes, Directs and Stars in Derivative Pop Slop as Bland and Unimaginative as Its Title

Rebel Wilson mostly got a pass for her ebullient 2024 directing debut, The Deb , adapted from a well-received Australian stage musical by one of the show’s authors. In her second multitasking job on both sides of the camera, Girl Group , Wilson goes it alone as screenwriter, with no pre-existing material to supply the bones. The result is another ersatz Pitch Perfect , a thrown-together grab bag of familiar ideas both painfully unfunny and narratively anemic, relying primarily on charm-deficient pop nostalgia for any appeal it can muster. Which can’t be much when you start wondering, “Was Spice World really that bad?” Related Stories Movies 'Our Loves' Review: An Overwhelming Subject Gets Underwhelming Treatment in Israeli Drama About People Trying to Survive the October 7th Attack Movies 'Atonement' Director Reed Van Dyk on Iraq War Drama Overlapping With Current Iran-U.S. Conflict: "History Repeats"

Of course, Spice World was that bad — at least the half-hour of it I got through on a plane — but in hindsight, its shameless cribbing from A Hard Day’s Night seems kind of endearing. Wilson is clearly a fan of the Spice Girls and other girl power purveyors of the era, judging by the presence here of the artist formerly known as Sporty Spice, Mel C; Shaznay Lewis from All Saints; and not one but two Pussycat Dolls, Ashley Roberts and Nicole Scherzinger . None of them has a lot to do, but they appear to be having fun, which should at least entitle them to a participation trophy. Girl Group The Bottom Line Slapdash and tuneless. Venue : Toronto International Film Festival (Gala Presentations) Cast : Rebel Wilson, Chabely Ponce, Lilah Pate, Bailey Stender, Daniela Couso, Ana Yi Pung, Miracle Washington, Mia Kaplan, Randall Park, Loren Gray, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Sally Hawkins, Jennifer Coolidge, Nicole Scherzinger Director-screenwriter : Rebel Wilson 1 hour 43 minutes

Those retro-pop recruits play grown-up versions of the members of Gurlfriends, a group that rose to popularity following a high school talent contest in the late ‘90s, when they dazzled the crowd with their zesty take on “Wannabe.” Their first professional single, “Summer Snog,” was a smash and they were riding high when core Gurlfriend Tassie Young (Wilson) dropped out to go solo. That career move quickly fizzled, leaving a sloppy drunk has-been in the debris.

Now Gurlfriends are getting back together for a reunion tour, but when sozzled Tassie turns up ready to resume her place in the lineup — a bid to boost her self-esteem and finances — she is bluntly informed that her services are no longer required. Replacing her is Scherzinger’s unnamed diva — billed as “Popstar” in the credits — a character that takes sporting digs at the actress and singer’s own long-standing reputation. Playing a raging narcissist intoxicated with her own vocal calisthenics, Scherzinger gets one of the movie’s rare amusing moments, warbling in airy Mariah Carey melisma style even while weeping.

Discarded by her former bandmates and her flouncy manager Gabriella (please stop doing this to Jennifer Coolidge ), Tassie gets smashed and charged with a DUI.