‘Girl Group’ Review: Rebel Wilson’s Musical Comedy Is Fun Spiritual Sequel To ‘Pitch Perfect’ — Toronto Film Festival

Nearly 15 years after first stealing audiences’ funny bones as Fat Amy, Rebel Wilson has provided a new generation with a musical comedy that will have fans laughing and singing along just the same. In Girl Group, co-written and directed by Wilson, the Australian multihyphenate stars as popstar Tassie Young, who found fame with her four best friends when they were discovered at a talent show in 1996. But with Tassie’s party girl ways forcing her out of the group in 2006, she finds out her former bandmates are having a reunion tour in the present and don’t want her back. After a DUI arrest, Tassie is forced to teach music to a group of teen girls at East Hollywood Community Center, where she discovers their talent and helps them prepare for an audition with a major label. Watch on Deadline Wilson hits all the right comedic notes as both star and director, complemented by hilarious performances from an ensemble that includes Jennifer Coolidge as her manager, Randall Park as the community center’s director and Derry Girls alum Jamie-Lee O’Donnell as a rival coach with her own girl group. The movie is also stacked with cameos from the likes of the Spice Girls’ Mel C, Pussycat Dolls’ Nicole Scherzinger, Sally Hawkins, Chris Colfer and more. With fun choreographed covers of Spice Girls, Destiny’s Child, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan and others, the ensemble of newcomers puts their talent on full display, in addition to keeping up with their seasoned co-stars’ comedic chops. Girl Group is an addictively enjoyable film blends heart and humor, and Wilson has returned to her roots with a fun, character-driven musical comedy that is sure to appeal to anyone who couldn’t stop singing “Cups (When I’m Gone)” for the majority of 2011. Title: Girl GroupFestival: Toronto (Gala Presentations)Director-screenwriter: Rebel WilsonCast: Rebel Wilson, Randall Park, Sheridan Smith, Melanie Chisholm, Nicole Scherzinger, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Shaznay Lewis, Ashley Roberts, Judi Love, Guz Khan, Chabely Ponce, Daniela Couso, Lilah Pate, Mia Kaplan, Bailey Stender, Loren Gray, Miracle Washington, Ana Yi Puig, Keith Duffy, Chris Colfer, Bechill, Jolene, Sally Hawkins, Jennifer CoolidgeSales agents: UTA/Live Nation StudiosRunning time: 1 hr 43 mins