The Deb

The-Deb
The Deb

The purpose and the tradition of a debutante ball is for the young women to be presented to society as young ladies, formals, or grown-ups. Such is however not the case in “The Deb” – a witty directorial debut of Australian star Rebel Wilson. There are Michaels’s disrespectful characters and there are Wilson’s even more disrespectful ones, such as the crass small-town hairdresser portrayed by Wilson in yet another hideous John Waters wannabe crud musical at the intersection of extreme over-the-top progressive values and utmost male superiority dressing-up parade.

It really is a shame that the audience should have followed the film’s debut on the closing night of the Toronto Film Festival hampered by media concern over legal issues Wilson has with three of the movie’s producers because Wilson’s film “The Deb” works when and how it should. This project sets out to ridicule every one of them and simultaneously update the rules of romantic stories for teenagers. Within the first few minutes, it is basically “Hairspray” goes to “High School Musical” where even the pretentious and catchy first number that precedes all the following ‘FML’ makes clear throughout the show why the words ‘economy’ and ‘problematic’ will not sound on Broadway.

Even in their well-being attempts, time betrays the nice folks in “The Deb”.Aesop’s ancient tale of the “town mouse and the country mouse” finds a refreshing version in this setting. Maeve Barker (Charlotte Macinnes), the cousin, has a “cancel pig” mood and is packed from big cities to dusty, yet equally twat, Dunburn, after being expelled from another school because of her protesting tactic once too many times.

In Dunburn, Maeve is supposed to blend with country bumpkin/socioparalytic Taylah Simpkins (Natalie Abbott). Typical teenage conduct is found at school when the three doting girls take every chance of making Taylah, one of the girls they call Pixie Cups, and Chengella, the girls’ leader at Charlie Chan, is elusive, best dressed at all times and always camera ready. Unfortunately, in her family, only a big-boned cousin with old-fashioned manners can be a “cousin”. However, she still loses her instinct and senses her cousin by looking around at her classmates who want to humiliate her sister.

Taylah, who looks forward to her big night as most princess-wannabe ladies would in anticipation of a hansom prince, is also in panic mode as she cannot find a date. The situation gets worse since the Dunburn local Maeve seems to catch the eye of Dusty (Costa D’Angelo) almost instantly. Dusty’s floppy hair and ‘Rebel without a cause’ look suggests that Dunburn does not live in such a cultural desert as to never have layed eyes on Timothée Chalamet.

Prior to the ditty, a self confident Maeve proclaimed, “I think I might be the feminist voice of my generation,” and dismissed any efforts of chivalry with an infuriated, “What do you see me, a woman?” Before the ball even begins, it is given that girls will ask boys, and after Dusty takes her ‘accidental but pleasant’ invitation, there is only one thing that Maeve still finds as complicated, and that is determining a date for Taylah. All this, of course, excluding the need to put the Pixie Cups in their place for good.

Those three vixens view this event as the opportunity to kick start their careers as internet influencers with the added pressure of Annabelle’s pushy mother, Janette, who runs a home based salon called Curl Up N Dye. Annabelle Wilson has a garage dressed outlandishly in a combination of boots, feather boas, and denim skirt sets alongside the film’s excellent song, “It’s Time to Get Ugly,” and she almost takes over her film. But still, she is one of the most likable characters in the show: the most badly dressed terrorist with the mission of destroying Maeve.

For Americans familiar with Wilson’s attention-grabbing performances in films such as ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘Pitch Perfect’, The Deb appears designed to be Wilson’s big bang entrance where this multitalented American makes a unique mark with her funny yet artistic talents. The Australians, however, should by now be accustomed to this facet of Wilson persona as she began to establish her acting career down under in 2008 with a short musical sitcom titled Bogan Pride.

This is a movie that incorporates music and singing, and Hannah Reilly is the one who composed the music and wrote the lyrics to the Stage musical from which The Deb is adapted together with Meg Washington. While their lyrics are smart and modern, this project is Wilson’s jam all the way. Because of Wilson’s genuine sensibility, her need for outrageous and vulgar humor to cover the more empowering messages that would otherwise come off as cheesy makes sense. And it does: You usually never feel lectured when hearing Wilson boast about waxing her ‘back, crack and sack’ on Hugh Jackman’s backside (or waving the shorn body part about for emphasis).

Janette contrasts Taylah’s father Shane Jacobson aka a widowed farmer, who is quite a kind and courteous mayor, trying hard to gather resources and revive their place ravaged by drought. Taylah is not even close to Hayden but respects the opinions of Hayden’s design, an old fashion wifi that never shown to her prom (played by Tara Morice) which is more ridiculous than the actual dresses. Taylah’s father disregards the importance of Taylah and thinks that it is a screw-up.

Audiences haven’t seen much of Wilson since her 2020 weight loss. That physical change makes her look even stronger in this, though it is good that she is still not casting all different types in this cast. Especially Abbott, who headlined a traveling production of Muriel’s Wedding the Musical. Abbott as Taylah is like Ricki Lake in Hairspray: They both are effervescent and optimistic despite being bullied by their classmates.

Taylah looks too innocent and it is quite difficult to comprehend the part of the story where Janette is somehow successful in breaking apart the cousin relationship about two or three scenes from the end. But the film has several characters, not less than half a dozen of them, who are in the strangle of ignorance Leane has a solution. The art consists of doing so without erasing the new faces in the first place in having one’s cake and eating it too.

For more movies like The Deb – 123Movies

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