After a nightmarish few weeks, I am practically dancing a jig at this bit of good news: Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion—the 1997 screwball buddy comedy about two incredibly attired adult losers played by Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino—is apparently getting a sequel, with both Kudrow and Sorvino set to reprise their roles.
Realistically, there are only so many times that you can go back to high school (and thank God for that), so it feels unlikely that the sequel will repeat that particular set-up. But what could happen in Romy and Michele II? Below, find a handful of guesses—and if any of these appeal to one of the many powerful Hollywood decision-makers who I assume never miss a brand-new take from me, I’ll say upfront that I am readily available for script consultation (assuming that my seven-figure quote isn’t a problem):
1. Romy and Michele…take Paris
The Romy and Michele sequel is being written by Emily in Paris showrunner Robin Schiff, and since the television industry famously loves to run out the mileage on preexisting IP, I can see the sequel’s plot taking a more-adult Romy and Michele to the City of Lights and using the fact that the original film left them both opening a boutique to make a Romy-and-Michele-go-to-Paris-Fashion-Week storyline work. It’ss all about dragging the fish out of water, people!
2. Romy and Michele…join the gig economy
I’m throwing up even as I type this, but I can easily imagine the executive powers that be insisting that the sequel be given a “Gen-Z twist” by finding Romy and Michele once again down on their luck and driving for Uber or delivering for Postmates. Once again, I’m sure a handsome stranger will bail them out. (If only all gig workers were so lucky!)
3. Romy and Michele…swap bodies?
Listen, I’m as scornful of the lazy screenwriter’s body-swap trope as the next person, but Little was funny, okay? (Or, is that not quite a body-swap movie, but more of a reverse-aging Benjamin Button-esque situation?) If your film earns comparisons to the Lindsay Lohan reboot of Freaky Friday (another movie getting a sequel), that’s unequivocally a good thing in my book.
4. Romy and Michele…fall out!
This kind of already happened in the original film (although, thank God, they made up in the end…spoiler…but also, why haven’t you seen it yet?), but I would be very into a Romy and Michele sequel that navigates the tricky terrain of best-friend burnout in late adulthood. Let’s get real about female friendship dynamics in perimenopause, guys!
5. Romy and Michele…fall in love?!
Hey, stranger things have happened! I, for one, would predictably love to see a sequel in which Romy and Michele realize their codependent BFF-ship has always concealed a beating heart of romantic love, ditch their boyfriends, close up their shop, and move somewhere cold and remote in order to walk tearfully on desolate beaches together. That would sell some tickets!
