Release Date: May 13th, 2011
Watched On: May 4th, 2011
Ticket Price: Press Screening
Refreshments: None
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey & Ellie Kemper
Director: Paul Feig
Runtime: 2 hr. 5 min.
Rating: Pay Full Price and See it Twice
Synopsis: Two longtime friends find themselves in different places in their late 30s, one has a good job and a boyfriend that just proposed and the other has a job she hates and no real prospects on the romantic front. But, when asked to be the made of honor, the one down on her luck just has to say yes to her best friend. But, as her ideas for dinners and trips don’t go off as planned, her life begins to unravel further and her friendship just might go with it.
Review: Bridesmaids is flat-out funny. I think I laughed more than at The Hangover
A good comedy provides lots of laughs. A great comedy wraps those laughs around an appealing story. But, to be considered a top rated comedy it needs to also be able to stand the test of time. Bridesmaids does the first two and will do the third.
The comedy in Bridesmaids is universal. It revolves around situations we can relate to now and into the future. Things like weddings and the events that surround them, friendship, love, not being where you thought you’d be in life, romance, and many others. Sure, it pushes them to an extreme, but that’s what makes it funny. The point being is that in 10 years, someone watching it for the first time is still going to find it funny, cause they won’t need to know what was going on now to find it so.
Kristen Wiig, who is co-producer, co-writer and star, is fantastic. And, this is coming from someone that finds her recurring characters on Saturday Night Live to be less than funny. This is totally her movie, as very seldom is she not on screen. She reminds me of Jim Carrey (Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar), in that she is very facially expressive and adept at the physical comedy. Her reaction shots and situational delivery are spot on. For instance, her response to hearing of her best friend’s impending nuptials or what happens in her drug induced stupor on the plane.
While the rest of the cast is great, the standout of this group is Melissa McCarthy. A favorite from her days on TV’s Samantha Who? and Gilmore Girls. Her character is almost unrecognizable from anything she has done before, as she is asked to deliver some of the more outrageous lines and situations and doesn’t hold anything back. A perfect example of this is what goes down at the dress fitting, while we probably could’ve done without watching, it was one of the more hilarious parts of the movie.
Yet, the best part of Bridesmaids is the romantic comedy side story. Wiig’s Annie meets a police officer along the way and even though they travel a mostly normal rom-com path, it showcases the charm and heart buried below all the bawdiness. That storyline also provides one of the funniest scenes, as Annie tries to get his attention and help near the end of the movie. Much of the sequence was expertly setup throughout the movie and the payoff is phenomenally funny.
I could not recommend Bridesmaids more highly. Yes, it’s raunchy and occasionally gross, but with an underlying sweetness similar to the likes of The 40-Year-Old Virgin
I’d love to hear your take on Bridesmaids in the comments.
