BRIDESMAIDS: Funny Girls
Welcome to Reel Answers. I am a book editor, social media marketer, and writer who never reads a film review to learn the entire plot of the movie or how it fits into the canon (although often that’s what they tell you), but rather to figure out whether this movie is for me. So, with that in mind, my Reel Answers column boils film reviewing down to its essence: answering questions (without divulging key plot points) you might have about a popular movie before plunking down your hard-earned money to see it.
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Bridesmaids
Directed by Paul Feig
Starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, and Melissa McCarthy
In the mood for a comedy? Well, as I saw at previews before a recent screening of Bridesmaids, get ready for a whole slew of high-concept “boys will be boys” movies coming our way, starring everyone from Jason Bateman and Zach Galifianakis to Tom Hanks and Ryan Reynolds. But if you’d prefer some laughs with a distinctly different flavor, check out the Reel Answers below to see if Kristin Wiig’s Bridesmaids could be for you.
Is Bridesmaids just the distaff version of The Hangover? The promos seem to imply that.
The two movies are different genres and aimed at different audiences. The Hangover is a frenetic road-trip buddy movie featuring a trio of guys, with a crazy “wha— happened?” mystery thrown in. Despite the poster featuring a posse of women posturing in hot-pink dresses, Bridesmaids is more down to earth, focusing on one particular Milwaukee woman: the rather immature thirtysomething Annie (Kristen Wiig), who hits bottom when her best friend announces she’s marrying a rich guy. While there is some laugh-out-loud bad behavior in the movie à la The Hangover, Bridesmaids goes for the heart as it mines the humor (and pathos) in female friendships as well as the bizarrely competitive rituals leading up to a wedding. And, as an extra, it has a bit of romance thrown in.
Who is the creative team behind Bridesmaids?
Director Paul Feig has been involved more with television than films—along with Judd Apatow, Feig created Freaks and Geeks, a cult TV show based on his early 1980s high school experiences in Michigan. His buddy Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40-Year Old Virgin) is the producer of Bridesmaids, which is why it’s being called a “Judd Apatow movie.” Apatow hired Kristen Wiig, along with her comedy writing partner Annie Mumulo, to write this movie as a star vehicle for Wiig. All of the above creatives have a similar sensibility: the comedy mostly comes out of situation and character, with a dollop of I Love Lucy (2011-style) physical shtick thrown in. As super-successful producer-director-writer Apatow knows, that’s a formula that really works when it’s done well.
I’ve seen Kristen Wiig on Saturday Night Live, but can she carry a feature film?
If you’ve seen Wiig’s brand of comedy on TV you know that she specializes in playing intense women who inadvertently say or do wholly inappropriate things. She’s similar to Steve Carell: An attractive person who has no compunction about participating in scenes of humiliating humor (remember Carell getting his chest waxed in The 40-Year-Old Virgin?) As with Carell, it’s a nice surprise to see that there’s a real person behind all the acts Wiig does, and she also shows some nice dramatic chops, as her character changes and grows. She definitely proves she can carry a movie and, man, does she give herself some funny scenes.
How is the rest of the ensemble on this film?
Kristin Wiig has written some memorable supporting parts, starting with an unbilled classic cad performance by Jon Hamm (Mad Men). Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live), playing Kristen Wiig’s best friend, ie, the bride, has some nice moments of being a “real” person. Rose Byrne (Damages) is perfect as a maid-of-honor wannabe. The Irish character actor Chris O’Dowd, a Judge Reinhold lookalike, has a likeable, goofy charm that just could win over our self-sabatoging heroine. But for me the breakout performer is Melissa McCarthy, a longtime chubby TV sidekick, here playing the groom’s rough and tough sister—a most unlikely bridesmaid. She brings a really positive charisma to an oddball character and is a blast to watch in every scene.
How crass is the film?
Let’s put it this way, starting with the uncomfortable opening scenes you will be laughing often in horrified amusement at the things people say and do to themselves and each other. Subtle isn’t the byword of this R-rated movie. That said, throughout it showcases mostly “adult” humor in the better sense of the word, rather than the gross, juvenile humor you often find in movies today. (Warning: there is one long, unforgettable scatalogical scene.) For the most part, the movie veers toward sweet and silly rather than the kind of bizarre cheap laughs the Farrelly brothers used to deliver.
Is there any chance men will like a film about bridesmaids?
I went to the movie with a female friend and a male one, and it seemed the male friend laughed loudest and longest at the movie, declaring it “a winner” on the way out. Also, if you look at the movie review aggregator RottenTomatoes.com, where the vast majority of critics are men, you’ll see that the film is a hit with them. I’d say the movie cuts more along age lines (it’s for adults, not teenagers) than gender ones.
Will I need tissues?
At the end, you may indeed need tissues.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.