Everything you have heard about Bridesmaids is true. It’s funny. It’s so funny that I watched two pre-screenings of it — and I will probably see it a third, forth and fifth time until it comes out on Blu-ray. Then I will just have it on replay so it will serve as a source of happiness in my life.
The immediate sell of Bridesmaids is the cast led by Kristen Wiig who plays Annie, a down-on-her-luck gal with a heart of gold. She lost her bakery business; she miserably works at a pseudo-fancy jewelry store; her roommates are clueless, disrespectful morons (Rebel Wilson and Matt Lucas KILL these roles); and she yearns for a real relationship from her douchebag f*ck buddy (played with the utmost douchebaggery by Jon Hamm). Through all of this she manages to keep a smile on her face with the help of her BFF Lillian (Maya Rudolph) — until she gets engaged.
Annie is asked to be the maid of honor and once this happens she gets eclipsed by Lillian’s new friend Helen (Rose Byrne — who knew she could do comedy so well?!), a garish and pretentious, “Look at how pretty I am” socialite. On the plus side, she finds a confidant in Officer Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd), a charming but atypical, not-so-hunky but cute enough love interest.
In addition to all of these ingredients for an offbeat rom-com, the movie folds in Melissa Mcarthy, Jill Clayburgh, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, and Melissa Mcarthy (she’s so enjoyable, she has to be mentioned twice) to provide one of the best comedies of the year. With the inclusion of Wilson Phillips’s “Hold On” as a vital plot point, Bridesmaids may be considered one of the best wedding movies made. Ever.
Although directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, Bridesmaids is an all-female comedy club — and it’s a club that each gender wants to desperately wants to be part of. The movie elevates the female buddy comedy and puts it on par with male buddy comedies — it even surpasses some of them.
The movie has been referred to as the female answer to The Hangover. Although both are funny, they are in two totally different worlds. The Hangover took the phrase “What happens in Vegas…” and blew it up into a comedic raunch-fest of drunken debauchery and morning after mystery. Although Bridesmaids has its fair share of raunch (prepare your stomach for the dress shopping scene which includes liquids exiting from various orifices), there was an element of wit, sensitivity and heart that The Hangover didn’t touch — and that wit was in the source of Wiig. As the leader of the pack, Wiig is a great comedienne that can act and everyone else feeds off of her and it provides great LOL-worthy entertainment that is reconfigures the typical rom-com and makes it ingestible for both genders.
Watching the movie is the equivalent of eating a cupcake while watching softcore porn. It’s very sweet…but nasty enough.
Bridesmaids opens in theaters today.
