Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
Encyclopedia
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion is a 1997 comedy film
starring Lisa Kudrow
, Mira Sorvino
, Janeane Garofalo
, Camryn Manheim
, and Alan Cumming
directed by David Mirkin
. The plot revolves around two 28-year-old women who appear to have achieved very little success in life and decide to invent fake careers to impress former classmates at their 10 year high school reunion. The characters are taken from the stage play Ladies Room, which also featured Kudrow.
) and Michele Weinberger (Lisa Kudrow
) are two airheaded 28-year-old friends living together in a beachfront apartment in Los Angeles
, California
. Romy works as a cashier in the service department of a Jaguar dealership; Michele is unemployed. They are both single and live a life of partying and fun. Romy encounters former high school classmate Heather Mooney (Janeane Garofalo
) at the dealership, who informs them of their upcoming 10-year high school reunion
in their hometown of Tucson, Arizona
.
Desperate to make good impressions, Romy and Michele make last-ditch attempts to get boyfriends, better jobs, lose weight, and hopefully avoid a second round of the torture they endured during their days at Sagebrush High, mostly at the hands of the "A-Group", led by cheerleader Christie Masters (Julia Campbell
). The most humiliating incident happened at their high school senior prom, when Romy asked her crush, Billy Christenson, Christie's jock boyfriend, to dance. He promised her he would, if she would just wait a minute. Instead, he rode off on his motorbike with Christie, leaving Romy tearfully waiting all night.
Failing in their attempts to get jobs and boyfriends, Romy and Michele decide to pretend to be successful by showing up in an expensive car and business suits. They then think of what they believe is a highly impressive story; saying that they are very successful businesswomen who invented Post-it note
s. However, during their drive, they get into an argument about who is cuter, (by comparing themselves with Mary
and Rhoda
) and who would be clever enough to think of the idea of Post-it notes, and their friendship dissolves.
When they arrive at the reunion, Romy says that she invented Post-its all by herself, while Michele looks on in disdain. Michele then discovers that the A-Group girls that picked on her in high school have stayed in touch. Michele convinces the four girls that she invented a special kind of glue. Sandy Frink (Alan Cumming
), the nerd who had a crush on Michele in high school, turns out to be incredibly wealthy and gorgeous (with the help of cosmetic surgery
) and hits on Michele. Soon both Romy and Michele are winning awards as most successful members of their graduating class, though still refusing to speak with each other.
Seventy years later, a severely ancient Michele learns that Romy is sick and near death and calls her up to make amends only to rehash the same argument they had in the car those many years ago. Romy dies and they never get a chance to resolve their issues—that is, until Michele wakes up in the car, parked outside the hotel where the reunion is being held, and realizes that it was all just a dream. At the reunion, Romy has begun to spread around her story about Post-its; Michele, on the other hand, only talks about her recent falling-out with Romy. Heather Mooney arrives and unknowingly reveals that Romy didn't invent Post-Its, causing the A-Group girls to mock her.
Humiliated, Romy and Michele resolve their fight and decide to just be themselves and not care about other people's opinions. They change out of their businesswomen's clothes and into sexy, handmade club outfits, and return. They confront Christie for all of the teasing they had to endure in the past and at the reunion. Just as Christie attempts to mock their clothes (which Romy and Michele designed and sewed), classmate Lisa Luder (Elaine Hendrix
), a former member of the A-Group who has long changed her ways and became an associate fashion editor for Vogue
, announces her professional opinion that the outfits are actually very well done. Christie is left in the dust and everyone congratulates Romy and Michele on their great designs.
Then, in a fairly coincidental parallel of Michele's dream, Sandy arrives in a helicopter and turns out to actually be a billionaire
who made his fortune from a special rubber
he invented. When he comes in to the hotel, Christie immediately tries to approach him, but he ignores her advances and goes over to talk to Romy and Michele. Michele remarks to Sandy that he must be the most successful person in their class; Sandy responds that despite all the wealth and success he has, the one thing he doesn't have is her, and asks her and Romy to dance with him. After an interpretive dance
to Cyndi Lauper
's hit "Time After Time
" that receives huge applause from the rest of the class, he escorts them to his helicopter and the three prepare to fly away together. On their way out, they encounter Billy Christensen, who is now Christie's husband. Far from being a handsome jock, he has become an overweight alcoholic and is living a very poor, miserable life with Christie, and is doubtful the baby Christie is carrying is actually his. When he tries to proposition Romy for sex, she tells him to go to his hotel room and wait for her with his clothes off. He excitedly shuffles off, and Romy revels in her revenge for when he made her wait for him at the prom. Everyone at the reunion comes out to wave goodbye as they take off, except for Christie, calling out for Billy, has her dress blown up by the chopper, further humiliating her to Romy and Michele's delight.
Six months later back in L.A., Romy and Michele use money loaned to them by Sandy to open their own clothing store. Heather Mooney has stayed in touch and has become friends with the girls, shopping in their boutique.
.
n box office making $7.4 million in its opening weekend behind Volcano.
, the film was known as Romy und Michele: Alle Macht den Blonden ("Romy and Michele: All Power to the Blondes"), while in France
the film was called Romy et Michelle: 10 ans aprés ("Romy and Michelle (sic): 10 Years Later"). The Swedish
title was Romy & Michele: Blondiner har roligare ("Romy & Michele: Blondes have more fun"), while in Denmark
it is simply called Blondiner har det sjovere ("Blondes have more fun"). In Norway
it was known as Blond og Blondere ("Blonde and Blonder"), a conscious nod to the 1994 film Dumb and Dumber. The Croatia
n title is Prijateljice ("Friends") - a reference to the TV show starring Kudrow.
television film, Romy and Michele: In the Beginning
, premiered May 30, 2005 on ABC Family
. It was critically panned and received low viewership.
and Christie Mellor reprised their roles from the play for this pilot. Although the show wasn't picked up for the fall schedule, NBC
did air the pilot on September 1, 1999.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
starring Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
, Mira Sorvino
Mira Sorvino
Mira Katherine Sorvino is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite and is also known for her role as Romy White in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.- Early life :Sorvino was born in Tenafly, New Jersey...
, Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
, Camryn Manheim
Camryn Manheim
Camryn Manheim is an American actress known primarily for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's The Practice and Delia Banks on CBS's Ghost Whisperer and as Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley in the 2005 mini-series Elvis....
, and Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
directed by David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
. The plot revolves around two 28-year-old women who appear to have achieved very little success in life and decide to invent fake careers to impress former classmates at their 10 year high school reunion. The characters are taken from the stage play Ladies Room, which also featured Kudrow.
Plot
Romy White (Mira SorvinoMira Sorvino
Mira Katherine Sorvino is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite and is also known for her role as Romy White in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.- Early life :Sorvino was born in Tenafly, New Jersey...
) and Michele Weinberger (Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
) are two airheaded 28-year-old friends living together in a beachfront apartment in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Romy works as a cashier in the service department of a Jaguar dealership; Michele is unemployed. They are both single and live a life of partying and fun. Romy encounters former high school classmate Heather Mooney (Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
) at the dealership, who informs them of their upcoming 10-year high school reunion
High School Reunion
High School Reunion may refer to:*"High School Reunion" *Romy and Michele's High School Reunion*High School Reunion *Class reunion...
in their hometown of Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
.
Desperate to make good impressions, Romy and Michele make last-ditch attempts to get boyfriends, better jobs, lose weight, and hopefully avoid a second round of the torture they endured during their days at Sagebrush High, mostly at the hands of the "A-Group", led by cheerleader Christie Masters (Julia Campbell
Julia Campbell
Julia Campbell , is an American actress, who is best known for her role as the "mean girl," Christie Masters-Christianson in the feature film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.-Career:...
). The most humiliating incident happened at their high school senior prom, when Romy asked her crush, Billy Christenson, Christie's jock boyfriend, to dance. He promised her he would, if she would just wait a minute. Instead, he rode off on his motorbike with Christie, leaving Romy tearfully waiting all night.
Failing in their attempts to get jobs and boyfriends, Romy and Michele decide to pretend to be successful by showing up in an expensive car and business suits. They then think of what they believe is a highly impressive story; saying that they are very successful businesswomen who invented Post-it note
Post-it note
A Post-it note is a piece of stationery with a re-adherable strip of adhesive on the back, designed for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. Although now available in a wide range of colours, shapes, and sizes, Post-it notes are most commonly a square, canary yellow in colour...
s. However, during their drive, they get into an argument about who is cuter, (by comparing themselves with Mary
Mary Richards
Mary Richards, portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore, is the main character of the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.-Family:Mary Richards, born in Roseburg, Minnesota, is the daughter of Walter and Dottie Richards...
and Rhoda
Rhoda Morgenstern
Rhoda Morgenstern, portrayed by Valerie Harper, is a character on the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show and subsequent spin-off Rhoda.-The Mary Tyler Moore Show:...
) and who would be clever enough to think of the idea of Post-it notes, and their friendship dissolves.
When they arrive at the reunion, Romy says that she invented Post-its all by herself, while Michele looks on in disdain. Michele then discovers that the A-Group girls that picked on her in high school have stayed in touch. Michele convinces the four girls that she invented a special kind of glue. Sandy Frink (Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
), the nerd who had a crush on Michele in high school, turns out to be incredibly wealthy and gorgeous (with the help of cosmetic surgery
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
) and hits on Michele. Soon both Romy and Michele are winning awards as most successful members of their graduating class, though still refusing to speak with each other.
Seventy years later, a severely ancient Michele learns that Romy is sick and near death and calls her up to make amends only to rehash the same argument they had in the car those many years ago. Romy dies and they never get a chance to resolve their issues—that is, until Michele wakes up in the car, parked outside the hotel where the reunion is being held, and realizes that it was all just a dream. At the reunion, Romy has begun to spread around her story about Post-its; Michele, on the other hand, only talks about her recent falling-out with Romy. Heather Mooney arrives and unknowingly reveals that Romy didn't invent Post-Its, causing the A-Group girls to mock her.
Humiliated, Romy and Michele resolve their fight and decide to just be themselves and not care about other people's opinions. They change out of their businesswomen's clothes and into sexy, handmade club outfits, and return. They confront Christie for all of the teasing they had to endure in the past and at the reunion. Just as Christie attempts to mock their clothes (which Romy and Michele designed and sewed), classmate Lisa Luder (Elaine Hendrix
Elaine Hendrix
Elaine Hendrix is an American actress, producer, singer, dancer, and activist. She is best known for her roles in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, Inspector Gadget 2, and the 2004 documentary What the Bleep Do We Know!?....
), a former member of the A-Group who has long changed her ways and became an associate fashion editor for Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, announces her professional opinion that the outfits are actually very well done. Christie is left in the dust and everyone congratulates Romy and Michele on their great designs.
Then, in a fairly coincidental parallel of Michele's dream, Sandy arrives in a helicopter and turns out to actually be a billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
who made his fortune from a special rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
he invented. When he comes in to the hotel, Christie immediately tries to approach him, but he ignores her advances and goes over to talk to Romy and Michele. Michele remarks to Sandy that he must be the most successful person in their class; Sandy responds that despite all the wealth and success he has, the one thing he doesn't have is her, and asks her and Romy to dance with him. After an interpretive dance
Interpretive dance
Interpretive dance is a family of dance styles that seeks to translates particular feelings and emotions, human conditions, situations, or fantasies into movement and dramatic expression combined...
to Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
's hit "Time After Time
Time after Time (Cyndi Lauper song)
"Time After Time" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released as the second single from her album She's So Unusual. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 9, 1984, and remained there for two weeks...
" that receives huge applause from the rest of the class, he escorts them to his helicopter and the three prepare to fly away together. On their way out, they encounter Billy Christensen, who is now Christie's husband. Far from being a handsome jock, he has become an overweight alcoholic and is living a very poor, miserable life with Christie, and is doubtful the baby Christie is carrying is actually his. When he tries to proposition Romy for sex, she tells him to go to his hotel room and wait for her with his clothes off. He excitedly shuffles off, and Romy revels in her revenge for when he made her wait for him at the prom. Everyone at the reunion comes out to wave goodbye as they take off, except for Christie, calling out for Billy, has her dress blown up by the chopper, further humiliating her to Romy and Michele's delight.
Six months later back in L.A., Romy and Michele use money loaned to them by Sandy to open their own clothing store. Heather Mooney has stayed in touch and has become friends with the girls, shopping in their boutique.
Cast
- Mira SorvinoMira SorvinoMira Katherine Sorvino is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite and is also known for her role as Romy White in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.- Early life :Sorvino was born in Tenafly, New Jersey...
as Romy White - Lisa KudrowLisa KudrowLisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
as Michele Weinberger - Janeane GarofaloJaneane GarofaloJaneane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
as Heather Mooney - Camryn ManheimCamryn ManheimCamryn Manheim is an American actress known primarily for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's The Practice and Delia Banks on CBS's Ghost Whisperer and as Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley in the 2005 mini-series Elvis....
as Toby Walters - Alan CummingAlan CummingAlan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
as Sandy Frink - Julia CampbellJulia CampbellJulia Campbell , is an American actress, who is best known for her role as the "mean girl," Christie Masters-Christianson in the feature film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.-Career:...
as Christy Masters - Mia Cottet as Cheryl
- Kristin BauerKristin BauerKristin Bauer van Straten is an American film and television actress, perhaps best known for her role as vampire Pam in the HBO series True Blood.-Biography:...
as Kelly - Elaine HendrixElaine HendrixElaine Hendrix is an American actress, producer, singer, dancer, and activist. She is best known for her roles in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, Inspector Gadget 2, and the 2004 documentary What the Bleep Do We Know!?....
as Lisa Luder - Vincent VentrescaVincent VentrescaVincent Paul Gerard Ventresca is an American actor, best known for playing Darien Fawkes on SCI FI's The Invisible Man .-Early years:...
as Billy Christensen - Justin Theroux as Cowboy
- Jacob VargasJacob Vargas-Early life:Vargas was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and raised in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, since 1971. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family.-Career:...
as Ramon - Mark Pasqualone as Mark
- Tate Taylor as Casey
Reception
The film was positively received by critics, and maintains a 68% rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Box office
The film opened at #2 at the North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n box office making $7.4 million in its opening weekend behind Volcano.
Foreign titles
In GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the film was known as Romy und Michele: Alle Macht den Blonden ("Romy and Michele: All Power to the Blondes"), while in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
the film was called Romy et Michelle: 10 ans aprés ("Romy and Michelle (sic): 10 Years Later"). The Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
title was Romy & Michele: Blondiner har roligare ("Romy & Michele: Blondes have more fun"), while in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
it is simply called Blondiner har det sjovere ("Blondes have more fun"). In Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
it was known as Blond og Blondere ("Blonde and Blonder"), a conscious nod to the 1994 film Dumb and Dumber. The Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n title is Prijateljice ("Friends") - a reference to the TV show starring Kudrow.
Prequel
A prequelPrequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
television film, Romy and Michele: In the Beginning
Romy and Michele: In the Beginning
Romy and Michele: In the Beginning is a 2005 TV film starring Katherine Heigl as Romy and Alex Breckenridge as Michele, with a special appearance by Paula Abdul. It is a prequel to the 1997 feature Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. The TV film was critically panned and suffered low viewership...
, premiered May 30, 2005 on ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
. It was critically panned and received low viewership.
Television series
An even earlier incarnation of the Romy and Michele characters appeared in a sitcom pilot entitled Just Temporary. Based on the stage play Ladies Room, this pilot was written by its author Robin Schiff. Both Lisa KudrowLisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
and Christie Mellor reprised their roles from the play for this pilot. Although the show wasn't picked up for the fall schedule, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
did air the pilot on September 1, 1999.