Barb and Star, Some Middle-Aged Mayhem to Distract Us

By Lori Perkins

I realized I kind of love this genre of entertainment about quirky mid-life ladies being themselves. I was addicted to Absolutely Fabulous way before I was middle-aged, and I think it’s one of the reasons why the Momma Mia musicals have done so well. I’ll throw First Wives Club in there for good luck, as well as all the episodes of Sex in the City.

So, add in the fact that Barb and Star Go to Visit Del Mar was written by the same team that wrote Bridesmaids, you know that I had pretty high expectations for this surprise (to me) comedy on Amazon Prime. And although I was entertained, and even guffawed once or twice, I was ultimately disappointed, not because it wasn’t good, but it was just good enough. But, I was thankful to have this to watch to distract me from the impeachment hearings and the at-homeness of Galentines/Valentine’s Day this year.

The plot is simple. Middle-aged singletons (a 40 something widow and divorcé) from small town Nebraska loose their beloved jobs at the local Jennifer Convertibles, take their severance pay and splurge for a week at the mid-life Florida resort Vista Del Mar