TV & Movies
11 Thoughts I Had Rewatching Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion In 2022
A look back at the beloved film, a quarter-century after its release.
Calling Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion a cult classic doesn’t do its reputation justice. It wasn’t necessarily panned upon its April 1997 release, but in the last 25 years, it’s become a full-blown cultural touchstone. The internet’s reaction to Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino’s reunion earlier this year at the Screen Actors Guild Awards — to which the actors wore their signature colors, and even brought some Post-it Notes — speaks for itself.
Romy and Michele is one of those movies that’s as smart as it is stupid, clever in even its most ridiculous scenes. But its true brilliance goes beyond its incisive humor — it lies in the sisterhood its protagonists share. As two outsiders who only have each other, and want to keep it that way, Romy White and Michele Weinberger will always be the gold standard for BFFs. Sure, they may be entirely codependent and delusional, but maybe that’s a symptom of true friendship, not a bug.
So grab your gummy bears, jelly beans, and candy corns, and settle in. In honor of its 25th anniversary, we’re rewatching Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion in 2022.
1How can Romy and Michele afford that beachfront apartment?
Romy works the front desk at a car dealership and Michele is unemployed. Even in the ’90s, how could they possibly afford an ocean-view flat along the Venice Beach Boardwalk? And also, why are their beds in the same room? How do they bring guys over? Or maybe that’s the joke... that they don’t.
2Was the magnets “prank” even a prank?
Christie Masters really thought she did something by putting fruit magnets on Michele’s back brace. But... was it actually a prank? What’s the joke? Accessorizing? If anything, she made Michele look better.
3Speaking of, why is Christie Masters literally the worst?
She was awful in high school, and is somehow even more toxic 10 years later. And what’s with her smug giggling after she outs Romy and Michele for Post-it-gate? It sounds like a ghost swallowed a car alarm. Please grow up, babes! Get a job! STAY AWAY FROM HER!
4Wait, Alan Cumming!
I low-key forgot he was in this movie. Also, his prosthetic, chiseled face in the dream sequence is simultaneously hot and hideous. Props to the hair and makeup team for accomplishing this harrowing feat.
5They have a cat?
If you look closely at certain scenes, you can see an orange tabby chilling on the couch or snoozing next to Michele. But the cat is literally never mentioned. Not once. Rude!
6Their exercise outfits are insanely impractical.
I’m getting a sweat rash just looking that unbreathable fabric — and don’t even get me started those chunky heels they wear on the treadmill. At least Michele pokes fun at their outfits (“Did you deduct 16 pounds for your shoes?”).
7Why isn’t there a “businesswoman special” at every restaurant?
Remember when Romy and Michele stop at a diner to change into their “sophisticated, educated, successful career women” outfits, and ask a waitress if they have “like, a lunch special, for businesswomen?” Even though the gag is supposed to be “what the f*ck is a businesswoman special?!”, I feel like a lunch deal aimed at office workers is a really good idea?
8Where is Heather Mooney’s stand-alone movie?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Heather Mooney (Janeane Garofalo) deserves her own spin-off. Her one-liners are razor-sharp, and her post-high school glow-up makes everyone else at the reunion look cringe. Like 30 Rock’s Liz Lemon, the teenaged Heather was both bullied and a bully herself — except that for Heather, that’s somehow a good thing.
Plus, she nabs Justin Theroux in the end. Jealous!
9Lisa Luder is grossly underrated.
Before Elaine Hendrix was Meredith Blake, she was Lisa Luder, the former “A-Group” member who becomes an editor at Vogue after high school. Her grace is apparent throughout the film, and never more so than when she stands up to Christie Masters alongside Romy and Michele. But Lisa isn’t just serving “that b*tch” one-liners. She’s also insanely chic: Her cream-colored power suit and sleek up-do is the look of the movie... and maybe every movie.
10Romy is definitely the Rhoda.
“Cuteness” aside, I’ve decided that Romy is the Rhoda in the whole “who’s Mary and who’s Rhoda?” debate. And I’m not the only one who thinks this. As Jezebel’s Emily Alford notes, Romy’s social anxiety and preoccupation with surface-level prestige preclude her from being the Mary.
11That choreographed routine is completely unnecessary. Yet totally essential.
The legendary eleventh-hour interpretive dance number will always confuse me. Why it had to be in the movie, I’ll never know. But I can’t imagine Romy and Michele without it.
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