Forbidden Fruits

Apple (Lili Reinhart), Cherry (Victoria Pedretti) and Fig (Alexandra Shipp) run the mall in Forbidden Fruits (Distributed by IFC FIlms)

Forbidden Fruits is an odd beast. An extremely quirky dark comedy about toxic female friendship among a coven of mall retail store witches, it is lightly plotted and features characters who talk like they are fully aware they are in a movie. Nobody speaks like this all the time in real life. It is like someone dropped acid and decided to imitate the writing style of Diablo Cody. Cody is actually a producer on this. Cowriter Lily Houghton based it on her stage play “Of the woman came the beginning of sin and through her we all die (one of the witches wears a shirt with this written on it during the final act).”

I felt like I was somewhere near its wavelength for the first third, but it is not wild, dark or funny enough to remain interesting much longer than that. Not only does it feel like a play, it feels like a one-act play, unconvincingly expanded to feature-length. It is an amusing idea that grows tiresome before the end, making the bloody climax drag more than it should.

Mannered peculiarities and awkward conflict between unlikable people can either be funny or wear out its welcome fast. Forbidden Fruits (96 minutes, plus a mid-credit scene) burns through its welcome in approximately a half-hour. There are some funny lines showing how oblivious and arrogant these women are, but to what end? The movie isn’t really saying anything about what it puts on screen. It is mostly just these four women seeing their shallow friendships and shared belief system disintegrate when the leader’s demands start to get questioned.

It is a strangely slow burn, as the screenplay keeps its (tremendously obvious) secrets until close to the conclusion, then things get chaotic in the last twenty minutes. The total lack of character growth holds this back, as does the distinct absence of believable motivations. It is cute, yet way too slight and purposeless.

Pumpkin (Lola Tung) joins the coven

The Free Eden girls run the mall. This is Fig, Cherry and their alpha, Apple. When Pumpkin comes to town and gets their attention, they see her as a potential fourth for the group. Her addition causes divisions, resulting in violent consequences.

Most of the story concerns Pumpkin ingratiating herself to the group, especially Apple, as Apple struggles to maintain control over her less-disciplined minions. It is clear early on that Pumpkin is up to something. Even though most viewers will figure out her motivation immediately, Forbidden Fruits takes until the very end to reveal it. That means, for the majority of the movie, we are simply watching behavior.

Apple hates men, ordering the rest of the coven to severely limit communication with the opposite sex. Fig and Cherry both let her exert power over them, despite their own desires. Pumpkin seems to be trying to manipulate them. That is it for the first eighty minutes or so. Their personalities aren’t fun enough and their actions are surprisingly mundane considering they are witches who hold themselves above everyone else, specifically men.

I guess the main issue here is it just isn’t very interesting. The Diablo Cody influence is so strong that I expected more offbeat weirdness, with maybe some kind of engaging commentary attached. The weirdness is forced and, if there is a message, Houghton and cowriter (and director) Meredith Alloway do not know how to convey it. A few funny lines and spirited performances are not enough to make this worth a look.

2½ out of 5

Cast:

Lola Tung as Pumpkin

Lili Reinhart as Apple

Alexandra Shipp as Fig

Victoria Pedretti as Cherry

Directed by Meredith Alloway

Screenplay by Lily Houghton and Meredith Alloway