The Deb

Traditionally, ‘debutante’ balls are meant to present young ladies before the society as matured members. But in Australian comedian Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut, “The Deb,” there’s nothing even resembling “polite society.” Wilson’s character’s range from rude to outrightly offensive — none more so than the obnoxiously vulgar small-town beautician Wilson plays in crass John Waters type musical that’s set squarely where overzealous progressivism meets traditionalism at its most exploitative.

It is sad that “The Deb” which is presented in the closing night of the Toronto Film Festival gets marred by legal tussles between Wilson and three her producers because “The Deb” performs where it matters the most. This project mocks all sides of the story while providing a refreshing view towards the presentation of teenage love in the 21st Century. Right of the bat, it’s “Hairspray” meets “High School Musical’ as the opening number entitled “FML” promises to set the tone for everything that follows (words which most B-way types of musicals would not dare to use, like “economy” and “problematic” for example).

Located in Australia deep in the outback where well-meaning people are a few decades, “The Deb” is the story of a well-educated genteel inverted caste who upholds the values of Aesop and chooses the rural life which may seem a little dated, but fondly speaks of Aesop’s story of the town mouse and country mouse in a modern twist. After failing yet another one of her school sieges which forces her school to expel her, Maeve Barker (Charlotte Macinnes), a big ‘cancel pig’, is shipped off to the secluded town of Dunburn.

In Dunburn, Maeve is told to bond with the alienated Taylah Simpkins (Natalie Abbott), who is usually vegan or vegetarian and alienated by the somewhat mainstream girls: Annabelle (Stevie Jean), Chantelle (Karis Oka) and Danielle (Brianna Bishop), known as the “Pixie Cups”. Despite being a wannabe in all her social media photos, Maeve, who has a big Tik Tok fandom, appears to have more in common with the emancipated trio than with her more plain looking cousin. Still, it is to her merit that she feels the urge to take Taylah’s defense when her peers attempt to make fun of her.

With less than a month to go before the Dunburn Debutante Ball, Taylah — who dreams about this night like every other girl who has grown up on Disney films dreaming of one day finding a prince — is struggling to get a date. As if that was not enough, Maeve barely steps into the ball and Dusty (Costa D’Angelo) becomes infatuated with her – it seems as if Dunburn is quite Americanized with the Chalamet inspired floppy-haired rebel type any young woman would love.

Just earlier Maeve was quipping, “I think I might be the only feminist in my generation,” and in a disdainful tone responded to an attempt of a man being chivalrous saying, “Why do you think so, do you assume that just because of my biological sex and / or gender expression?” The ball shift the norm in these events where girls are supposed to wait for guys to offer to dance, however once Maeve asked Taylah to accept his invitation (it was not mean to be a formal one), the only thing that seems to bother the auntie most is the issue of who is supposed to assist her in escorting Taylah. That and the fact that it is extremely difficult to not get swayed by the Pixie Cups while staying in character too.

The three girls participate in the contest to become social media stars with the assistance of Janette — Annabelle’s mother (portrayed by Wilson) who runs her business from her garage, a hair salon called Curl Up N Dye. With her outrageous fashion which consisted of not only boots and feather boas but also denim skirt sets and a killer song in, “It’s time to get ugly”, Wilson almost manages to steal her own film. Still, she is many times the biggest joke: a comedic offending pretty woman with a singular goal — destroy Maeve.

For American audiences, for whom Wilson is best known for her scene-stealing parts in Bridesmaids and Pitch Perfect, The Deb may seem like it was designed specifically for Wilson: a multi-threat opportunity to showcase her comedy skills and creativity gifted in a completely different manner. Australians, on the contrary, have no problems with knowing this facet of Wilson, since her career in the country began in 2008 with the six-aired episode musical sitcom Bogan Pride.

The screenplay was written by Hannah Reilly, who together with Meg Washington wrote the stage musical of which The Deb was an adaptation of. These lyrics are modern and witty, but no, this project has Wilson all over it. She operates with the sense of being sincere, but always uses foul and crass humor to throw off empowerment messages that would otherwise come across as insipid. And it works: You hardly get the sense of being lectured when Wilson is spinning tales of her signature back, crack and sack wax which she gave to Hugh Jackman (or waving the hairy patch around to show off).

In contrast to Janette is Taylah’s father, Shane Jacobson who is a widow of a farmer and a sincere albeit ineffectual mayor who is trying to help his region recover from the effects of long droughts. It is clear he doesn’t get why Taylah stresses the occasion, yet she takes a strong interest in the underwear of a nasty seamstress who is played by Miss Tara Morice of Strictly Ballroom fame who never made it to her high school prom and who dreams up hideous ball dresses for the children today.

Ever since losing weight in 2020, audiences have not seen much of Wilson. This body style change probably even makes her more cell tough here, but it is quite good to see this theme of diversity captured in the casting of this multi-actor platform, particularly in the case of Abbott, who was the lead actor on a traveling version of the show “Muriel’s Wedding the Musical.” As Taylah, Abbott is like Ricki Lake as she transforms in ‘Hairspray’ – while they may be actively shamed by their contemporaries, both are cockeyed optimists.

It’s difficult to accept the false plot twist occurring two-thirds of the way into the movie, where Janette manages to alienate the cousins, since it seems that Taylah is a total innocent. But the film has at least six other characters that need some illumination. The challenge is to do so. The challenge is to allow everybody to be everybody and to turn the tables — to have a ball and burst it as well.

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