Drew Barrymore has starred in a bunch of beloved romantic comedies over the years, from 1999’s Never Been Kissed to 2004’s 50 First Dates, and the Scream star recently returned to the genre for 2020’s The Stand-In. While it might not measure up to the best rom-coms she’s been in, it’s proving popular with streaming audiences right now all the same. The film is currently the ninth most popular title on HBO in the world, according to the latest stats from Flix Patrol.
The Stand-In features Barrymore in a dual role as both a washed-up movie star and the supporting artist who works as her stand-in. Five years after a video of her raging on set went viral, Candy Black’s career is now in tatters, so she hires her former stand-in Paula to appear as her publicly in a bid to turn her reputation around. But, when Paula-as-Candy meets a cute guy and her career starts picking up, she might not want to give her fake life back. Barrymore’s joined by a great supporting cast, including Michael Zegan, Ellie Kemper, Holland Taylor and T.J. Miller,
Unfortunately, reviews for James Babbit’s movie weren’t all that kind. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a critics score of just 30%, with the audience score even worse at 17%. As the critics’ consensus puts it, “Despite impressively committed work from Drew Barrymore in a dual role, The Stand-In struggles to find the humor in a premise with no shortage of comedic potential.”
The Stand-In is Barrymore’s most recent acting role to date, although she’s currently finding success on TV with her own talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show. The star has referenced various hit movies from her past on the series, including a recent bit that went viral in which she interviewed the cast of Dear Evan Hansen in character as Josie Geller from Never Been Kissed. She also similarly reprised Casey Becker in a Scream-themed skit last year.
You can watch Drew Barrymore in The Stand-In on HBO now.
