This film is not The Hangover Part… who really cares at this point?

Inside Spa Weekend is something really lovely. Aligning it as a female rendition of The Hangover does the film a disservice, particularly in a slightly misleading trailer clearly put together for maximum appeal. Once the film breaks free from those parameters, Jon Lucas, Scott Moore, and leads Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Michelle Buteau and Anna Faris create something far more interesting.

I hope Mann, Fisher, Buteau and Faris had as much fun making the film as it becomes to watch. Their characters feel completely distinct from one another. Too often groups like this are reduced to terrible drunks, women consumed by the power of a position in the workplace or a wedding party, or simply people behaving terribly with little consequence beyond the next joke. Here, their flaws belong to the characters rather than simply servicing the comedy. That’s what makes the dynamic work.

When the heart of the story shines through, what emerges is a heartfelt look at adulthood, friendships becoming distant, and the reality of maintaining relationships in busy lives within what can feel like a cold and uncaring world. The film protects the rough edges that make each character so compelling and eventually loveable. At times, it feels almost profound.

Every time I found myself groaning because something on screen had been done to death, these four women pulled me back. Even in unnecessarily over-the-top moments, like the golf caddy crash, the cast somehow sell the chaos. Frustration is never too far away, but it becomes almost tantalising, as though written only to keep me on my toes. He writes, as if he were the only intended audience member.

I wish the film established itself properly from the beginning, though I do see that this might ultimately be what makes the end so rewarding. It presents itself as two films jousting against one another, and I can’t help thinking that with less Hangover bravado, there were funnier jokes, richer physical comedy and stronger character flourishes to be found. The film works best when it’s not being ridiculous in spite of itself.

I left wanting more time with the Spa Weekend girlies, which unusually means I genuinely wouldn’t mind a sequel, were there a natural next chapter for these women. Warmth in the friendship group needn’t kill those big comedy moments; if anything, we’re longing for something between Bridget Jones and About Time. Everything at the moment seems to be comically unhinged or soppy romance.

What is built here feels timely and genuinely inviting.

There’s something special here.