#SoloStories: “Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar”

#SoloStories is our feature in which we explore books, films and TV shows that show single women navigating their lives – but romance is not the main component.      

Do you want a movie with a wacky plot, beach scenes, a talking crab, musical numbers and feminist empowerment? Well, then, “Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar” is for you.

The 2021 movie starts off weirdly … but just go with it. It’s weird in a good way. And it will make sense later.

Then the plot focuses on Barb and Star, two roommates in their 40s living in Soft Rock, Nebraska, who just lost their jobs at a furniture store. Their only excitement is a Talking Club and their fantasies about supermarket food mascots. A friend tips them off about a resort in Vista Del Mar, Florida.

Star (Kristen Wiig) sees this as a sign. “You know those days when you see me staring at the carpet? Sometimes I daydream about life outside this place. Maybe something is telling us to do something different.”

Barb (Annie Mumolo), a widow, is reluctant. But they end up going to the sun-filled coast. They make new friends and Barb goes off on adventures, including snorkeling.

“I’ve been doing everything. I … have never felt more alive,” she says.

But trouble is brewing. And Barb and Star are the ones who have the power to stop a nefarious plot. Again, this plotline is too good to tell. We’re not going to tell you about the celebrity cameos and other fun dialogue because we don’t want to spoil that for you.

But we can tell you that Star finds love and Barb finds herself. She learns she can live life on her own and to the fullest.

When the villain tells her that she’s a nobody, Barb retorts: “I am Barb freaking Quicksilver and I have been delivered. I used to be afraid of a lot of stuff, including people like you. But I’m not afraid anymore. And I know my truth. I’m a phoenix.”

If you need a feel-good story and want to see a single woman finding her power, “Barb and Star” is a great treat.