Why The Wrong Missy's Reviews Are So Bad

The latest Happy Madison production, The Wrong Missy, features a variety of well-known comedic actors, but critics aren't buying the formulaic strategy. It's clear that most viewers appreciate Lauren Lapkus' lead performance; however, according to many critics, the rom-com premise doesn't innovate the genre, nor does the screenplay allow for anything other than the standard gags from Adam Sandler's production company, Happy Madison.

In The Wrong Missy on Netflix, Lapkus' titular character emotionally terrorizes businessman Tim Morris (David Spade) during a Hawaiian vacation. After being confused with a more appealing woman of the same name, via a text exchange gone wrong, Missy accepts her invite and essentially parties hard while Tim plays nice and tries not to lose his job. Per rom-com rules, the couple grow closer and then separate, only to realize that perhaps there's some potential moving forward. The Wrong Missy co-stars Jackie Sandler, the wife of producer Adam Sandler, along with Happy Madison regulars Rob Schneider and Nick Swardson.

The Wrong Missy currently has a 37 percent Tomatometer score at Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience score slightly above water at 52 percent. Overall, critics lament the film's thin storyline and all the expected rom-com tropes. It's also been implied that Spade isn't quite engaged with the role, which creates some odd chemistry with Lapkus. Here's the most pointed criticism of The Wrong Missy so far.

The A.V. Club:

"One can't shake the impression that Spade has been handed [Adam Sandler's] unwanted leftovers."

The Hollywood Reporter:

"Even with locked-down consumers scraping the bottom of the Netflix content trough, this new addition to the lineup is pretty dreary."

The Playlist:

"The Wrong Missy is just embarrassing. Even during quarantine, surely Netflix and Happy Madison can do better than a movie where Rob Schneider punches a shark square in the face."

Book and Film Globe:

"The Wrong Missy is a stupid, misogynistic piece of retro garbage. But it meets the low expectations it has of itself. And Lauren Lapkus is hilarious."