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Movie Review: Bridesmaids

Dane Jackson

When watching the trailer for Bridesmaids, it’s easy to simply pigeon-hole it as a “female” Hangover. Sure, the two movies have very similar elements, but Bridesmaids is much more than a clone. It’s a rated-R gross-out comedy with heart that shows the audience that women can be just as crass, and funny, as the men.

Given the talent involved with this film, there’s no way it wasn’t going to be good. First of all, one of the producers is Judd Apatow, who in my opinion is single-handedly responsible for the resurgence of the adult comedy. Then you have two members of the Groundlings, Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig (who also has another job on some sketch comedy show on Saturday nights), responsible for the script. Paul Feig, who I will forever be indebted to for bringing us Freaks & Geeks, handles directing duty. Just those elements alone are enough for one hell of a movie, but the folks responsible for Bridesmaids didn’t stop there. They rounded everything off with the best ensemble cast I’ve seen in a movie in years.

Wiig stars as Annie, a down on her luck woman who not only lost all of her money in a failed small business, but is also in a loveless relationship with a male chauvinist named Ted (Jon Hamm, who shines as a great scumbag). The only thing she has going for her in her life is her friendship with childhood friend Lillian (Saturday Night Live alum Maya Rudolph). That all changes when Lillian gets engaged and asks Annie to be her maid of honor. It’s as the maid of honor where most of the conflict, and comedy of Bridesmaids, comes in. While the two are best friends, Lillian’s life is going much better than Annie’s, and because of that, she’s more accustomed to the finer things in life. The difference in status between the two causes tension as the wedding is planned. Adding more conflict is Lillian’s rich friend Helen (Rose Byrne) who essentially tries to one up Annie with everything she plans for the wedding. The rest of the bridesmaids are rounded out by actresses with experience on Reno 911, The Office, and other television shows.

The true standout of the bunch is Melissa McCarthy, who stars as Megan, the sister of the groom. McCarthy steals every single scene she’s in – the comedic bits, as well as a very emotional scene between her and Annie towards the end of the movie. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when the bridesmaids are en route to Vegas for the bachelorette party. McCarthy’s conversation and interaction with the male passenger she sits next to are absolute comedic gold.

As much as I liked this movie, I think it’s important to point out that I am not a Kristen Wiig fan. I think she’s overused and under-funny on Saturday Night Live. Because of this, I was worried about how this movie would be – especially because she helped write the script. I found myself continuously surprised at how funny Wiig was. I am comfortable declaring that with her role in Bridesmaids, Wiig has solidified herself as one of the best leading ladies in comedy. I think it’s time for her to leave SNL and focus on her movie career.

The only real problem in Bridesmaids is the pacing. The comedy was sharp, witty, and well-paced. The gross-out gags were scattered throughout and seemed to pop up at just the right moments (the best being during a dress fitting after the women ate at a Brazilian steakhouse). But, the emotional elements make the plot drag a bit at times. At the movie’s core is the friendship between Lillian and Annie and what effects growing up and growing apart has on both of them. Left at just this, the movie would have been perfect. Instead, they forced a romantic comedy element between Annie and a state trooper (Chris O’Dowd who was last seen in the forgettable Gulliver’s Travels remake). I would have also dropped the scenes with Annie’s roommates (even though one of them was Little Britain’s Matt Lucas). I understand why all of those scenes made the movie, but they were hit or miss at best, and the movie would have been better suited with stronger editing in those scenes. Overall though, this is only a small criticism because Bridesmaids was almost perfect and could possibly end up being the best comedy of 2011.

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Dane Jackson

Dane Jackson has been writing about movies since high school when he had a monthly column in the school paper about cult movies. His cinematic tastes have matured (slightly) since then.
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