Why A 'Romy & Michele' Sequel Would Be Just As Important As It Is Fun

Get ready to make some new inquiries regarding "business woman specials," because Mira Sorvino wants a Romy And Michele's High School Reunion sequel, and of course, so do the fans. Speaking to IndieWire at the Television Critics Association press tour, Sorvino recently revealed that she'd be "so into" the idea of making another Romy And Michele movie. She straight-up stated, "Let's make a sequel." There may not be one in the works just yet, but her point is pretty convincing.

According to IndieWire, Sorvino elaborated,

"I think there’s an appetite for another one ... There’s such an enduring love for those characters — the geek underdog girl best friend heroes. I think that means a lot to people. I think it struck a real nerve for anyone who was ever in a difficult spot in high school or beyond. The power of friendship is the power of being yourself, but also being ridiculously stupid and funny about it all."

Romy And Michele's High School Reunion's recent 20th anniversary highlighted how beloved the '90s cult-classic remains. As Sorvino stated, fans love the characters because they're relatable in a myriad of equally fun, painful, and stupid ways. That's reason enough for all of us to hopefully get to enjoy a sequel to the movie. But there are two other major reasons why a sequel to Romy And Michele's High School Reunion feels so essential right now.

The first reason has to do with how Harvey Weinstein allegedly had Sorvino blacklisted from Hollywood, which the movie mogul has since denied. In December, director Peter Jackson recounted a harrowing anecdote to Stuff in which Weinstein allegedly urged him not to cast Sorvino or Ashley Judd in his adaptation of Lord Of The Rings.

Calling the Weinstein brothers "second-rate Mafia bullies," Jackson claimed, "I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs." He added:

"At the time, we had no reason to question what these guys were telling us — but in hindsight, I realize that this was very likely the Miramax smear campaign in full swing. I now suspect we were fed false information about both of these talented women — and as a direct result their names were removed from our casting list."

Weinstein vehemently denied Jackson's allegations. A statement released by his publicist suggested that the director was mistaken, as the Weinstein brothers "had no input into the casting whatsoever." The statement also added, "There was no indication that Mira Sorvino had any issues until Mr. Weinstein read about the complaints in the news."

Meanwhile, Sorvino claimed Weinstein allegedly sexual harassed her in Ronan Farrow's Oct. 23 New Yorker piece. In it, she recounted how Weinstein had allegedly intimidated her, including an alleged physical encounter in a hotel room ("He started massaging my shoulders, which made me very uncomfortable, and then tried to get more physical, sort of chasing me around") and one time where he showed up at her apartment.

Sorvino also revealed how the Weinsteins were so instrumental in her initial success, including her 1996 Oscar win for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite. However, she speculated that saying no to the producer's advances may have played a part in irrevocably damaging her career, and said, "There may have been other factors, but I definitely felt iced out and that my rejection of Harvey had something to do with it."

Reports that Sorvino's career is slowly getting back on track, with the actor finally receiving offers again, are encouraging. But a sequel to Romy And Michele's High School Reunion would be a phenomenal way for Sorvino's fans to celebrate the actor and give her the sort of rightful Hollywood homecoming that Romy White herself would have welcomed.

But also, consider this second important factor as to why a Romy And Michele sequel would also thrive right now. In the original, both characters were 28 years old. With 20 years having already passed since its release, our beloved characters would be around 50 years old. From a storytelling perspective, it's still sadly highly unusual to have the pleasure to see comedic movies that revolve around women of such an age.

Sure, we have exceptions in movies like Mamma Mia, or more recently, Hello, My Name Is Doris and Grandma, but audiences absolutely deserve to see much more. Particularly when there's the possibility of seeing Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Garofalo, and Sorvino back on screen together, serving some powerful reminders that older women are still hilarious. So, please, to the "powers that be" (as Sorvino called them to IndieWire): Make this movie a reality. We need it now more than ever.

Now let's all go blast some Cyndi Lauper and fold some scarves while we wait for this masterpiece to be written and given the greenlight.

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