‘The Wrong Girls’ review: Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat have kooky chemistry in affable stoner comedy

Dir/scr: Dylan Meyer. US. 2026. 99mins

Stoned and clueless, The Wrong Girls’ dimwitted Los Angeles protagonists stumble their way into danger through a cloud of pot smoke, eliciting laughs along the way. Writer-director Dylan Meyer’s uneven, irreverent feature debut goes a long way on the chemistry of stars Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat playing best friends who come into possession of a valuable, mysterious briefcase that is wanted by some frightening individuals. The jokes never stop — the sillier, the better — and, even though this stoner comedy has its share of rough patches, the picture’s genially ridiculous tone ultimately wins out.

Unpretentious pursuit of broad, dopey laughs

The film opens on August 14 in the US, catering to hip, younger audiences seeking late-summer chuckles. From Cheech and Chong to Barb and Star, cinema has offered plenty of wacky duos, and The Wrong Girls could be destined for cult status – especially among stoners who will appreciate the film’s bud-friendly humour. Stewart provides indie cachet, and she and Shawkat are joined by LaKeith Stanfield, Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani; the latter two providing the voices for some sassy cats.

College dropout Frankie (Stewart) and failed chef Molly (Shawkat) live on the eastside of Los Angeles, and are desperately trying to cobble together enough money to pay the rent. One night, Frankie goes out to a concert and, through convoluted circumstances, is handed a briefcase that was meant for someone who looks eerily similar to her. When these best friends open the case the following morning, they discover that it contains vials of an unknown liquid. Chased by menacing, well-dressed men brandishing weapons, Frankie and Molly must figure out what is in those vials — which, because these stoners are not especially bright, they do by drinking one of them.

Meyer, who previously wrote and directed the 2019 short Rock Bottom, has crafted a prototypical stoner comedy in which the plot twists are often the result of Frankie and Molly being high and not necessarily making the best choices. (The situation becomes even more extreme once they guzzle the unknown liquid, which has predictably wild consequences.) Even the conception of these best friends — each of them delightfully dumb, but fiercely loyal to one another — will be familiar to fans of this raucous genre.

What helps distinguish The Wrong Girls is the cast’s commitment to the boisterously silly script. Stewart, who is Meyer’s spouse, rarely plays someone so gleefully idiotic, and she ably captures Frankie’s perpetually confused state. Although Frankie once attended Stanford, she left school for unknown reasons, leaving her feeling self-conscious about her intelligence. The fact that Frankie is actually smart makes the character’s stoned behaviour funnier but also touching, suggesting that Frankie knows she has failed to live up to her potential. But The Wrong Girls never intellectualises Frankie’s inner conflict, allowing Stewart to be a gigantic goofball who (along with Molly) constantly does not grasp basic information. 

Shawkat proves to be a perfect foil as the seemingly more responsible Molly. Although Molly cannot imagine her life without Frankie, she feels tempted to move in with her adoring boyfriend Josh (Zack Fox), who promises a more grownup existence. (Not surprisingly, Frankie detests the guy, viewing him as an unwanted third wheel.) The film is at its best when Frankie and Molly are simply riffing off each other, their inability to navigate the world only worsening once the mysterious liquid starts to take effect – which is when their precious pet cats appear to start talking to them.

Some of the supporting cast are too high-profile for their insignificant roles, which makes their appearance particularly jarring. Tony Hale overdoes his rich-jerk character, although Stanfield brings plenty of presence to a small part as an enigmatic protector of these women. Kate McKinnon is one-note playing a severe scientist, although she is very funny when her character struggles to understand just how dense Frankie and Molly are.

As the freaked-out cats, Rogen and Nanjiani embody The Wrong Girls’ cheerful, smart-aleck spirit, throwing out a series of one-liners as the action ramps up and our protagonists run for their lives. Only about half of their quips land successfully, but they all feed into this film’s unpretentious pursuit of broad, dopey laughs — whether that involves insider-y jokes about Los Angeles or the women’s strange obsessions with giant squids and Celine Dion, which pay off in ways no one would expect.