The Wrong Girls (2026)
Directed by: Dylan Meyer
Premise: Two stoners (Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat) wander into possession of an experimental drug that gives them telepathic powers. They go on the run from a squad of hitmen trying to recover the drugs.
What Works: A lot of stoner comedies are about friendship and the genre has given us memorable duos such as Cheech and Chong, Bob and Doug McKenzie, and Jay and Silent Bob. The key strength of The Wrong Girls is the casting of Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat in the lead roles. Stewart and Shawkat are a natural pair and they bounce off one another very well. They’re funny together especially in their inebriated stupor. The experimental drugs allow Stewart and Shawkat’s characters to read each other’s minds. The mix of spoken and unspoken dialogue is impressive. Stewart and Shawkat don’t miss a beat in their exchanges. These kinds of buddy comedies are like love stories; the characters have to sort out their relationship. Stewart and Shawkat are likable enough that we want their friendship to survive. One of the side effects of the experimental drug is the ability to hear the thoughts of their cats, who are voiced by Seth Rogan and Kumail Nanjiani. The cats get some of the best lines in the film. The Wrong Girls is well produced. The style of the movie simulates aspects of drugs use. The imagery is slick and visuals are assembled in associative ways. The film also uses sound well. Audio effects are amplified to simulate inebriated sensitivity.
What Doesn’t: The stoner comedy genre appeals to viewers with a particular sense of humor. The comedy of these films is in the character’s clumsiness and absurd associations. The Wrong Girls will probably play for viewers who enjoy that style of comedy. For everyone else, watching The Wrong Girls is a bit like being sober in a roomful of intoxicated people; it’s amusing but we’re left out of the joke. Like a lot of stoner comedies, the plotting is haphazard. The mercenary played by LaKeith Stanfield wanders in and out of the story, showing up at convenient moments to bail the protagonists out of trouble. In most stoner comedies the lead characters are stupid. The Wrong Girls tries to change it up; Kristen Stewart’s character is a brilliant engineer who flunked out of school. Unfortunately, the film sets up but does not follow through on her engineering skills.
Bottom Line: Like a lot of stoner comedies, enjoyment of The Wrong Girls is conditional on the audience and what substances they’ve ingested prior to watching the movie. It doesn’t quite come together but Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat are a fun comic duo and Dylan Meyer proves to be a promising director.
Episode: #1112 (August 16, 2026)