The Wrong Girls

Without condoning actions that are legally or morally questionable, it’s probably best to view The Wrong Girls with a smoky haze between yourself and the screen.

Moviegoers not under the influence will find that any highs provided by this unapologetically silly stoner comedy tend to wear off quickly, leaving a talented cast to navigate a collection of lame jokes and strained plot twists.

The film opens with California roommates Frankie (Kristen Stewart) and Molly (Alia Shawkat) celebrating their latest bong hit while lamenting another visit from their landlord (Chris Estrada) about overdue rent. “You’re the only person who really understands me,” explains Frankie, a Stanford dropout now working part-time as a delivery driver.

During a night out, a mix-up with a doppelganger leads to Frankie being handed a suitcase by a stranger (Lakeith Stanfield) containing valuable psychedelics. They’re meant for research, but the girls have no idea, so they dive right in and gain telepathic powers, which have their advantages and drawbacks.

Now they can talk to their beloved sardonic cats (voiced by Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani), for example. Yet when they try to turn a quick profit at a party hosted by an obnoxious Stanford alum (Tony Hale), they instead become targets on multiple fronts.

At least the performers seem to be having fun, presumably because they are in the proper state of intoxication while interpreting the screenplay by rookie director Dylan Meyer.

The chemistry between Stewart and Shawkat (Atropia) is amusing enough as the film tries to position Frankie and Molly as lovable losers. But they come off as naively misguided at best and hopelessly pitiful at worst — hardly a gender-based millennial Cheech and Chong, if that’s the intent.

The deep supporting cast (with cameos!) generates many of the biggest laughs — we see you, Kate McKinnon — while leaning into various eccentricities.

However, the film falls into familiar genre trappings, using hallucinations and aimless banter to explain away any senseless joke that sends the plot spinning in circles. The second half particularly bogs down in a shaggy conspiracy narrative that never gains much traction.

We’re left with sight gags such as a 420 lock combination and one-liners referencing a scientist named Dr. Kock. The best advice for The Wrong Girls is to just say no.

Rated R, 99 minutes.