Forget 'Bridesmaids,' this underrated dark comedy with Kristen Wiig is a must-watch — and it's streaming free on Tubi
When people talk about memorable comedies from the 2010s, they're usually looking back on heavy hitters that everyone remembers: "Bridesmaids," "Superbad" and the like. But there are a ton more that ended up getting overlooked even though their stars oven overlap. Case in point: "Welcome to Me," starring "Bridesmaids" lead Kristen Wiig.
Wiig plays Alice Klieg, a woman with borderline personality disorder who wins the lottery and decides to bankroll her own talk show. That goes about as well as you'd think. It's not always a pleasant watch, but it does have plenty of darkly funny laughs along the way. That's why I appreciate it so much. "Welcome to Me is one of those rare projects that commits fully to its premise, even when things get difficult. Wiig is hilarious throughout, but mostly relatable, and I've always found it one of her best roles as she's wacky, but still quite grounded throughout.
If you have never seen it, consider this your herald to check it out. And if you have, you already know why this singular dramedy is worth returning to, especially now that it's streaming free on Tubi.
What is ‘Welcome to Me' about?
Alice Klieg (Wiig) is a woman living with borderline personality disorder. She has a pretty structured treatment routine that revolves around therapy, medication, and an intense fixation on Oprah. When she unexpectedly wins an $86 million lottery jackpot, she decides it's her chance to take control of her life in the boldest way possible: by purchasing her own daytime talk show.
Her show, "Welcome to Me", is a vanity project that lets Alice share secrets, talk about her past and entertain herself — no matter how uncomfortable it makes her small production team. Her best friend, Gina (Linda Cardellini), and a local TV station employee named Rich (James Marsden) try to support her, but it quickly becomes clear that Alice’s newfound wealth just makes her impulses harder to ignore and easier for her to act on.
Soon, the show begins to flop. The people closest to Alice question whether they are watching a woman claim her voice or spiral. At some point, she's got to ask herself who this show is even serving, and if it's time to pull the plug for good.
Why you should stream 'Welcome to Me'
It can be an incredibly isolating experience, dealing with mental health struggles without a support team. Even with a support team, it can be difficult. Wiig communicates that reality while making it easy to laugh at her escapades, all because they're just as believable as something that could happen to one of us.
She delivers one of the strongest performances of her career here. Fans who mostly know her from her sillier comedy get a more restrained and dramatic side, all peppered with plenty of dry humor. Cardellini and Marsden, ahead of their performances in "Dead to Me," help keep the story balanced as Alice’s behavior becomes harder to understand.
There's also exploration of the desire for attention, the appeal of reality-style entertainment, and what can happen when someone has the money to broadcast every part of their life. It asks uncomfortable questions and gives us answers we might not be ready for. But it does a great job eliciting laughs all the way through, and that is Wiig's doing.
Stream "Welcome to Me" free on Tubi
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