Friendships can be tricky – finding people who share your interests and whose company you enjoy keeping can be a wonderful experience, but like any relationship, it requires constant work, especially when it comes to those friendships that are closer and more intimate. Whether childhood companions, best friends or roommates, there’s something about being a mainstay in another person’s life that can be both exhilarating and challenging and requires a lot of compromise and even more patience at the best of times. In the case of The Wrong Girls, we find the limits of a platonic friendship coming into question in the most hilarious and unconventional ways. Written and directed by Dylan Meyer, who is making her directorial debut, the film follows Frankie and Molly, two lovable slackers who live as roommates somewhere in the sprawling suburbs of Los Angeles, where they pass the time trying to scrape together enough money to pay their rent and whatever other inconveniences of modern existence they’re forced to endure, which is only made bearable by their daily routine of taking any array of substances that they can get their hands on. However, after one wild night in which Frankie is mistaken for someone else leads them to come into possession of a mysterious briefcase, in which they find a strange substance – and as any logical person would do, their first step is to try it for themselves, which inadvertently causes a series of hilarious mishaps as the pair do what they can to evade the imminent danger that is very quickly on their tail. A strange but hypnotic film that immediately establishes itself as a definitive entry into the canon of brilliant stoner comedies, The Wrong Girls is an outrageously funny and effortlessly entertaining film that establishes Meyer as someone with a clear vision and a striking command of the craft, all of which comes to guide The Wrong Girls from being yet another off-the-wall comedy and instead pushes it past the limits that we would normally associate with such a premise, becoming an effortlessly funny and undeniably charming romp that is as enticing as it is absolutely bizarre.

Those seeking a hard-hitting film about the trials and tribulations of a pair of close friends who undergo a severe crisis in their relationship are gently advised to look elsewhere, since The Wrong Girls is far from the kind of film that is interested in delivering a particularly strong message. Instead, we’re presented with an outrageous and irreverent dark comedy that explores the lives of two eccentric characters as they go about their daily routine, which is thrown into chaos after a completely random coincidence plunges them into a state of crisis, the likes of which they were certainly not prepared to handle. For as long as we’ve been consuming media, audiences have grown to appreciate the concept of a farce, these hilarious and often delightfully provocative comedies that are built around tropes such as mistaken identity and the lighthearted double-cross, which have been the foundation of the performing arts for centuries. Perhaps it’s heading in a strange direction if we were to compare The Wrong Girls to these classical works, but it does underline just how much we tend to love stories in which characters are forced into unexpected situations, and where rather than succumbing to the pressure, they just dig themselves into an even deeper hole, from which the only way to escape is through embracing even more absurd situations. There is ultimately nothing all that profound or provocative being said throughout this film, which is actually the perfect approach, since there are a few moments where it touches on slightly deeper themes (particularly the growing tension that threatens to tear the central friendship apart), but they are merely there to give the film some structure and a sense of cohesion. Instead, the focus is to craft something that is undeniably enjoyable, the kind of film that can be appreciated and embraced by the audience at large as they go about navigating this strange and uncanny world alongside these lovable protagonists.

The basic premise of The Wrong Girls is simple enough that it could’ve easily been executed in any number of ways, going in a few different directions depending on what was considered the most appropriate and effective. In an era where seemingly every artistic choice is made with commercial intentions in mind, it is absolutely refreshing to come across a film that is so unapologetically wacky, willing to make some strange decisions (whether artistically or in terms of the execution), granted there is a purpose behind it, and it contributes to the overall experience. This is what happens when a filmmaker who has evidently been inspired less by conventions and more by the motivation to march to the beat of her own drums is handed a small but nonetheless decent budget, and a range of resources that she is able to carefully manipulate to fit her vision, and the results are tremendous. There is a lot of work done to make the film seem radically very different in style and structure than the run-of-the-mill buddy comedies that we see every year – it’s not the first film to be built around stoners, but it is one of the few that actually seems to go out of its way to evoke the feeling of being inebriated, the dreamlike imagery and often offbeat tone creating a very particular atmosphere that serves the story very well. Structurally, the film is smart to take advantage of the “one crazy night” genre, a category of comedy films set over the course of a single night, in which the characters are forced to accomplish something in a limited timeframe. This immediately lends the film a sense of urgency and adds layers of pressure that make for even funnier situations, which is a far more interesting approach than one that takes the more obvious paths. It is clear that it is a debut film, since there are moments where it does feel like the story is being handled by a slight newcomer, but this style adds to the appeal, giving The Wrong Girls a ramshackle charm, making it seem like more of a scrappy, endearing gem rather than an entirely polished piece, one of the rare instances where a film being slightly rough around the edges actually proves to be a merit.

It is quite clear that the reason The Wrong Girls managed to get made (or at least one of them) is that Meyer is married to Kristen Stewart, who holds enormous cultural cachet in the industry, and is very much respected as an artistic voice. Having made her own directorial debut last year with The Chronology of Water, it was clear that Stewart was only going to be taken even more seriously, and part of this allowed her to pursue other projects with filmmakers that were perhaps not as well-known, but instead managed to get a boost from her participation. This isn’t to invalidate Meyer’s tremendous work, but The Wrong Girls is very much designed as a vehicle for Stewart to show off her more lighthearted side, since she has proven to be quite an interesting comedic performer when the material is strong. The part of Frankie offers her the opportunity to bring her more offbeat persona to life on screen, one in which she is able to be more playful and free-wheeling than ever before, capturing our attention with a certain blend of goofiness and earnestness that we can appreciate as being quite different from her usually more stoic and subdued performances. She’s so wonderfully loose and eccentric, and a lot of this comes as a result of being paired with Alia Shawkat, who is also very charismatic, but has a lot more experience playing these kinds of irreverent modern young women navigating contemporary life as best they can. The two make for a tremendous pair, never pushing too hard on the humour, but rather focusing on harnessing their natural chemistry and coming across as entirely authentic, which is certainly not an easy achievement, but which they successfully pull off without too much resistance. The supporting cast has much less to do, but when you are able to enlist the likes of Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, Tony Hale, Geena Davis and Kate McKinnon, just having them make brief but memorable appearances is certainly more than sufficient when it comes to keeping the audience guessing about where this strange film is heading next.

At a glance, The Wrong Girls may seem somewhat derivative, following the same general premise and narrative pattern as many similarly-themed buddy comedies that take a more eccentric approach to exploring familiar themes. However, as conventional as it may seem on the surface, there is a depth to this film that makes it far more interesting than we would initially expect, leading us to appreciate some of its bold swings far more than we would have had it been less committed to giving the audience something memorable. The biggest surprise about this film is that it is so open to embracing its eccentricities without being impelled to justify its impulses or conform in any way that would lead us away from the genuine charm that drives this story forward, avoiding conventions and instead choosing to pursue its own unique path, as potentially risky as that may be. Meyer has crafted a film that is built from a foundation of delightful chaos, where absolutely nothing seems to go right, and we are left to splendour in the joyful madness that gradually envelopes the film. It’s helped along massively by two central performances that anchor the story, and underlying the willingness of everyone involved to take a few risks, all of which pay off in wonderfully unique ways. It may not have as much to say about friendship as we may expect, but it does understand that it doesn’t need to be making some deeper statement, since the themes being explored are compelling enough as they are. A thoroughly entertaining comedy that succeeds as a result of its peculiarities rather than despite them, The Wrong Girls is a wonderful blend of comedy and adventure that may not always be as serious as we may expect, but more than makes up for any potential shortcomings through its eccentric sense of humour, strong writing and impeccable direction, all of which converge into one of the year’s most delightful and irreverent discoveries that feels so much more meaningful as a result of its desire to just be as wonderfully deranged as it felt necessary.