Jon Lucas

Spa Weekend (2026) puts four friends in a spa and waits for their misbehaviour to make wellness culture look ridiculous. It is an easy premise to understand, which has often been a strength of Jon Lucas's comedies with Scott Moore. Here, though, the jokes are tired and the friends too broadly drawn to make the sentiment convincing. We were frustrated by how little the film found to notice about self-care beyond the predictable targets.

Lucas and Moore made their breakthrough as writers with The Hangover (2009), then began directing together with the college comedy 21 & Over (2013). Bad Moms (2016) marked the move towards female-led ensembles, followed by A Bad Moms Christmas (2017). The technology-themed Jexi (2019) was a detour before the return to a female group in Spa Weekend. His scripts draw on observations of family and social pressure, which ought to give these comedies more to work with than bad behaviour alone.

Spa Weekend has Leslie Mann, Michelle Buteau, Anna Faris and Isla Fisher, who provide scattered laughs despite the material. There is nothing wrong with wanting to spend an evening watching these performers behave badly, and we do not require a lecture on the wellness industry. But Lucas and Moore, who share the writing and directing, scarcely explore why the friends want what self-care is selling. That leaves the satire obvious and the friendship without enough substance to make us care. The cast are left trying to find fresh laughs in situations that remain familiar after the disruption begins.

Cinematographer Danny Ruhlmann and production designer Michelle McGahey are not responsible for that failure, and more elaborate spa surroundings would not repair it. Composer Philip White cannot supply the affection that Lucas and Moore have neglected to establish in the writing. Before returning to another group letting loose, Lucas needs to be more demanding of his own jokes.