10/12 ForReel Score | 4/5 Stars

Dylan Meyer’s undermarketed 2026 comedy The Wrong Girls sounds on paper like a haphazard attempt to revive the subgenre. Two deadbeat young women (Kristen Stewart, Alia Shawkat) ingest an experimental psychedelic drug that puts them on the radar of those looking to steal the substance, while also giving their cats the voices of Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani. I wasn’t too interested in the film until I was told it’s Smiley Face meets Repo-Man. No, I’ve never seen either of these movies, but I can’t pass up this kind of vibe at all.

The Wrong Girls opens with footage from a nature show depicting a giant pink bioluminescent squid, a creature that becomes far more important than I realized. One of the reasons I found this movie so fun was how committed it was to not being something more profound than it actually was. Meyer introduces us to Frankie (Stewart) and Molly (Shawkat) watching said nature show while hitting what Stewart calls “Bong-A-Tron” and sitting with Molly as they eat snacks and sit with their cats. I love when a film makes you feel like you’re just hanging out with the characters, and Meyer’s script and direction captures exactly how I would spend my Friday nights in college.

As laid-back as the film is, it has an eccentric edge to it that sets it apart. The set design of Molly and Frankie’s apartment has so many little details that offer so much to the personalities of the characters and the film as a whole. It becomes especially jarring when the villains of the film, a group of European men working for a megacorporation that wants the drug the girls accidentally took, ransack the apartment and make it look like a robbery. Other sets, particularly a laboratory run by a German Kate McKinnon, emit just as much of a colorful, weird energy, giving the film a distinct visual language even if the cinematography isn’t the most impressive. The editing was also key to capturing this energy, being just as hectic as the impressively bizarre night Frankie and Molly are having.

Meyer’s script maintains cultural relevance without being cringe or trying too hard to relate to the audience. While formulaic at times, especially in its structure as a buddy comedy, the film is incredibly witty and resonates with my generation’s type of weird, offbeat humor. I always find that directors now try to push boundaries and fall flat in the process (looking at you Scary Movie 6) but Meyer knows how to craft a joke that resonates. A particular bit pertaining to a Stanford alumnus’s college days got the biggest laugh out of me in a minute.

The core of The Wrong Girls and why it works so well is its two leads. Stewart and Shawkat are an all-timer female duo, having each other’s backs and standing on their own instead of paying homage to the male duos that came before them. Stewart in particular was a massive joy to watch, as her comedic timing is seriously impressive. Stewart is Meyer’s wife, but it doesn’t feel overtly clear in the film. While most director/star couples often highlight the star and take away from the entirety of the film, Stewart shares as much screentime as Shawkat. Speaking of Shawkat, she grounds Stewart’s wacky Frankie while also having her own time to shine. Neither star feels more important than the other, and it’s hard to find a film starring two women that’s able to have a balance like that.

The Wrong Girls represents a bygone era of late 1990s or early 2000s cinema. Blending the leads, the bizarre script, and editing with Meyer’s ability to resonate with modern young audiences results in one of the more pleasant surprises of the summer. Despite falling into some narrative cliches, The Wrong Girls is an awesome time at the movies for those looking to beat the heat with the delightful adventures of two stoner girls and their cats.

Movie Review: “The Wrong Girls” Hits The Right Spot