cinematic roots of: ‘You Again’

No movie springs from a vacuum. There are always influences from past examples of the genre, from the previous work of the filmmakers and stars, even from similar films that don’t quite work. If you want to understand where a movie is coming from, take a look at where it’s coming from.

In You Again, Jamie Lee Curtis must confront her high-school nemesis (Sigourney Weaver) while her daughter (Kristen Bell) does the same on the occasion of a family wedding. This flick sprang from (among other films):

• Meet the Fockers (2004), also about the clash between soon-to-be in-laws -- it’s a wonder anyone ever gets married with dreadful movies like these filling lovers’ heads with horror stories.

• The Game Plan (2007), if you must have more of hack director Andy Fickman; here, big tough football guy Dwayne Johnson inherits a fluffy pink little girl, and fake Hollywood cuteness ensues.

• True Lies (1994), for more of Jamie Lee Curtis as a put-upon mom, as she discovers that her husband (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a spy, and gets caught up in one of his adventures.

• Galaxy Quest (1999), for more Sigourney Weaver in a comedy that’s actually funny; in this Star Trek spoof she plays a smart actress who played a ditzy character on a 1960s sci-fi show.