‘Barb and Star’ Saves The Best Cameo for Last with Trish

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar. If you haven’t yet watched this hilarious absurd comedy—now streaming on premium video-on-demand—well, what are you waiting for? It’s great! Get on it!

Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar is a wacky, ridiculous comedy, and what’s a wacky, ridiculous comedy without some wacky, ridiculous celebrity cameos? Thankfully, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo‘s new comedy has plenty of those. One is—spoiler alert—actor/director Andy García, who drops by not to murder anyone but to deliver some sage advice as a character named Tommy Bahama. But even more absurd is a cameo from a certain celebrity you’ll almost certainly recognize.

The character that said celebrity plays is Trish, who is first introduced via the imagination of lead protagonists Barb (Mumolo) and Star (Wiig). While on their plane ride to Florida, the ladies amuse themselves by describing an imaginary woman named Trish, their favorite name. What starts as a light-hearted thought exercise about Trish’s personality ends in tears. Wiig and Mumolo end up sobbing over their fictitious narrative involving Trish’s cancer diagnosis and self-induced death.

But then, in the final moments of the movie, it turns out Trish is real. Well, Trish is sort of real. Trish is a magical mermaid who comes out of the water flanked by sea turtles to save Barb and Star from a watery death. So who plays Trish?

Who plays Trish in Barb and Star? Is that Reba in Barb and Star?

You guessed it! The final Barb and Star cameo, aka Trish, is none other than country singer Reba McEntire.

In an interview with USA Today, Barb and Star director Josh Greenbaum said the filmmakers sent the 65-year-old musician and actor a heartfelt letter, asking her to appear in the film. “If you’re about to die underwater, and some sea spirit is about to save you, it would be Reba McEntire,” Greenbaum said. “There’s some casting that just clicks. Reba is not only 100% authentic, we knew she would be game.”

They were right—McEntire was more than happy to play along but had just one concern: her diving abilities. “The script had me diving in and swimming off. And I can’t dive,” McEntire said in the same interview. “They said, don’t worry about that. We’ll fix it.” And a team of professionals was present to make sure nothing went wrong. “I had these hunky guys around me making sure I was safe. I loved every minute of it.”

The country queen went on to say that she had a chance to watch the final cut of the film last month, and, good news, she loved it.

“Everyone knows somebody like Barb and Star. They’re very real, it’s priceless. I laughed my butt off.”

Where to watch Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar