Netflix’s The Wrong Missy – A Simple Yet Funny Surprise

The Wrong Missy centers around Tim Norris (Spade), a vanilla corporate shill, who endures a dreaded blind date with Missy (Lapkus), a free-wheeling emotional tornado that is the stuff of nightmares, resulting in him being placed in a walking boot for several weeks and never speaking to her again. After experiencing a chance encounter with another woman named Melissa (Molly Sims), he proceeds to invite her to a corporate retreat featuring Tim’s new boss only to discover he invited the date from hell who shares the same name.

While The Wrong Missy is not challenging for Citizen Kane’s crown, it never tries to. Spade plays a straightforward character that is not asked to carry the humor but instead plays foil to the comedians around him perfectly. The true star lies with Lapkus who appears to adlib almost all of her lines with such perfection that at times it seems to visibly startle some of her co-stars in scenes. In short, she is hilarious and is allowed to do and say whatever seems to come to her mind which is comedic gold. Alongside Spade and Lapkus, is Nick Swardson playing Nate, an invasive HR Director and best friend to Tim, Rob Schneider plays Komante, a water diving instructor that fell victim to a vicious shark bite and most notably Jackie Sandler, Adam Sandler’s better half, who plays Jess, the antagonist competing against Tim for the all-important promotion.

While the premise is nothing spectacular or new it is never the true focus of The Wrong Missy as Lapkus commands every single scene she occupies. Her comedic timing and unpredictability lead to many hilarious moments that just as you believe it will shift into another scene that goes even further into awkwardness delivering consistent laugh out loud moments. The only weakness that is perceived is the storyline somewhat stumbling as it forces the reintroduction of the “other Missy” before it reaches the finale. Narratively, this is understood because it has to happen at some point but it just felt rushed. In the end, it doesn’t detract from the movie as minor plot details should never be the main focus with a Happy Madison production.

The Wrong Missy is simple, entertaining, and really funny. If expectations can be tempered correctly, viewers will experience a film that never asks for too much emotional investment from its audience but will consistently deliver hilarious moments that demand a rewatch for the solid performance that Lapkus gives. In this particular climate, something this entertaining is highly appreciated and is the best sort of comfort watch you can ask for.

If given the chance, The Wrong Missy may very well be one of the funniest movies of 2020 so far. Yeah…I really said that.

*still courtesy of Netflix*

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