IBIZA
Directed by: Alex Richanbach
Written by: Lauryn Kahn
Starring: Gillian Jacobs, Phoebe Robinson, Vanessa Bayer, Richard Madden, Félix Gómez
Review by Stephanie Cooke
When Ibiza first came out on Netflix at the end of May, I watched the trailer and thought “Nah I’m good…” But somehow last night, I found myself sitting through the entirety of the film. It was as if I hit play in a blackout moment of some sort that was completely unrelated to alcohol or drugs.
Ibiza is the story of a young woman named Harper (Gillian Jacobs) who is sent by her boss to Barcelona. While telling her friends about the trip, they decide to tag along for the after work fun. The trip quickly turns into more fun than business as Harper falls for prominent DJ Leo West (Richard Madden) and they decide to follow him to his gig in Ibiza.
The story is kind of silly. I honestly didn’t know what Harper’s job actually was until the final act of the film, but I mostly enjoyed Ibiza for what it was. It’s a fun girls trip film actually written by a woman, so it’s not filled with what guys think a girls trip is. It feels like things that I would get up to with my friends. You know, if clubbing and partying were things that I was into. It’s not a fantastic film by any means but the dialogue works and the interactions between the characters feels genuine and fun.
I went into this film thinking I was watching it for Gillian Jacobs but wound up ultimately shouting “GET IT, GIRL!!!!!!” at the TV for the duration of the film because… f*cking hot damn. Robb Stark is fine as f*ckkkkkk in this. He’s all salt and pepper hair with just a light bit of scruff like hngggggggg. I was all for it. Like I absolutely buy that Harper was like “I have a connection with this incredibly sexy hunk of a man who is also rich soooooo I’m going to go to Ibiza to get that D.” Honestly. It was the most believable part of the movie. If a hot guy who is super into has a job, makes dat cash, and isn’t some freeloading dumb dumb, SNATCH IT UP, HARPER. SNATCH IT UP!
Okay, I digress. Let’s get back to an actual review of the film.
You know what? That’s actually it. That’s pretty much it. Written by a woman and therefore feels like a real adventure that women would actually take together. For the most part. I mean, I didn’t buy a lot of the stuff that revolved around Harper and her job, but hey, I didn’t really care! I liked Harper’s friends who I don’t really remember the names of but were played by Phoebe Robinson and Vanessa Bayer, respectively.
And I really liked the inclusion of Richard Madden as a dorky but super cool (and sexy af) DJ. Making him have this ultra cool DJ persona mixed with a dorky inability to be smooth around a girl he likes was a nice touch that he pulls off well. I think we’ve all experienced a moment where we’ve just said exactly the wrong thing and have spent days, weeks, months (or a lifetime) replaying it in our heads.
I can’t really remember specific details of the film (i.e., the names of most of the characters or a good chunk of the B plot) less than a day after watching it but that’s fine, I didn’t necessarily need it. It was a mindless fun sort of comedy. I say “sort of” because I didn’t feel like it was setting out to be solely a comedy like Rough Night or Girls Trip. It felt more grounded in being a relatable girls trip story that happened to have funny characters within in that made it more lighthearted.
Verdict:
Check it out! Ibiza isn’t a film I’d ultimately watch again. I did enjoy it for the most part. I doubt it’s something that I would pay money to have watched but as it’s on Netflix and accessible through my subscription, I didn’t feel like I wasted my time. This doesn’t make it sound worthwhile at all, but here’s the bottom line: Do you need a mindless movie to watch with likable female characters? Cool, watch Ibiza then.
AND WATCH IT FOR SEXY SALT N PEPPA ROBB STARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
