Rebel Wilson has returned to the Toronto International Film Festival with Girl Group, her follow-up behind the camera after The Deb. This time she wrote the screenplay herself, but the response from critics has been less than warm. The humor comes across as rehashed, the characters never quite solidify, and the songs fail to carry the story.
The Setup Behind Girl Group
Tassie Young is played by Wilson, a former teen pop star who departed her group Gurlfriends to launch a solo career that failed to reach the heights she had hoped for. When Gurlfriends announces a reunion, Tassie discovers her old bandmates have substituted a new singer, played by Nicole Scherzinger, whom she only knows as “Popstar.”. A driving under the influence sends her to court-ordered community service at a Los Angeles youth center managed by an awkward mentor named Ken, played by Randall Park.
A coach guides a group of young girls who dream of making it in music: Tyler, Kiah, La La, Henrietta, Bailey, and Pippin. They come together as Xplode and face off against the Cream Team, whose mentor, Miss Candy, is determined to win. The film includes flashbacks featuring Tassie’s high school mentor, Mrs. Bowmaker, played by Sally Hawkins.
Why the Nostalgia Wave Misses Its Mark
The film borrows the look and sound of 1990s British pop — the era of the Spice Girls, All Saints, Billie Piper, Atomic Kitten, and Samantha Mumba. But it never captures why that world mattered to the fans who grew up with it. The story skips from Gurlfriends’ past to Tassie’s present, using nostalgia only to set up another underdog competition.
Wilson’s script rarely finds its own comedic rhythm. Tassie shares the outsized confidence and bad judgment of many characters Wilson has played before, but there’s little here that makes those qualities surprising. One joke about Bridesmaids draws attention to a familiar group of unlikely singers and rivals, but the film doesn’t build the character work that made that film’s moments land.
The Cast Carries the Film
The young women playing the members of Xplode bring energy to the musical numbers and are genuinely fun to watch. Scherzinger seems to enjoy playing Tassie’s replacement, even if the character is mostly a plot device. Jennifer Coolidge plays Gabriella, Tassie’s manager, and Loren Gray plays Jess, Bailey’s older sister on the rival team.
The Spice Girls’ Melanie C and Shaznay Lewis of All Saints show up in the film, and their appearance was meant to carry extra weight, yet the film fails to use them to give the story more depth.
The Message of Empowerment Falls Short
The film wants to celebrate girls supporting one another and resisting the music industry’s narrow expectations. But Henrietta and Bailey’s size become easy sources of humor, which feels especially misguided in a story about young women defining themselves on their own terms. The script could have made sharper jokes about the pressure to look and act a certain way, but instead it falls back on the very assumptions it claims to question.
By the finale, the message of empowerment barely feels earned.
What the Premiere Showed
The film opened at TIFF in September. The reviewer pointed out that there was little laughter from the audience during the screening. Considering the movie is designed to bring the house down with comedy and a bubblegum pop style that some viewers genuinely miss, the silence said more than any sound could.
Key Facts
- Premiere: World premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September
- Runtime: 96 minutes
- Cast: Rebel Wilson, Randall Park, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Coolidge, Loren Gray, Melanie C, Shaznay Lewis
- Screenplay: Written by Rebel Wilson
A talented cast, a nostalgic premise, and a director with proven crowd appeal give Girl Group the raw materials for a feel-good underdog story. Instead of letting those elements settle into an earned narrative, the film rushes from one relationship to the next, chasing gags and musical numbers without ever letting the characters find a moment to breathe.
See the video the story is built around at Collider.
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