If you want to see a chick flick, “Bridesmaids,” isn’t for you. In spite (or maybe because) of its all female cast, this film shines as a comedy about friendship and life and is not just a movie for you and your girlfriends.
The film follows Annie (Wiig), who just lost her long-time boyfriend and her self-started bakery, and whose roommates aren’t exactly ideal. In fact, the only thing seeming to be going right is her relationship with her best friend, Lillian (Rudolph).
But when Lillian gets engaged everything changes. Lillian asks life-long best friend Annie to be her maid of honor and she agrees (if somewhat apprehensively).
When the unsuspecting Annie shows up at the engagement party however, she realizes she is in way over her head. It’s at this swanky soiree that Annie meets Helen (Rose Byrne), Lillian’s beautiful new friend who immediately starts moving in on Annie’s BFF territory. She also meets fellow bridesmaids Becca (Ellie Kemper), Rita (“Reno 911”’s Wendi McLendon-Covey) and Megan (Melissa McCarthy from the TV series “Mike & Molly”). Hilarity ensues.
For the unfortunate Annie, Murphy’s Law abides and everything that can possibly go wrong with the wedding planning does .
It’s out of these realistic yet over-the-top situations that the humor of this film really stands out. There aren’t many slap-stick style laughs, instead, the whole film is more like hanging out with someone you’ve known for years, laughing about things that were horrible years ago but are funny now.
If there is one thing this movie proves, it’s that Kristin Wiig can (and by all means should) be “SNL”’s saving grace. As one of the scriptwriters, she created a cast of characters that do crazy things but still remind you of people that you know, making them real.
Of course, not all the glory can go to Wiig. It takes some pretty great acting to pull off the humor in the film, which is probably why you don’t see it very often. Yet in “Bridesmaids,” there isn’t any one stand-out player. Sure, Wiig’s Annie is the main character, but if Megan had been played by anyone but the brilliant McCarthy, it wouldn’t be the same movie.
This isn’t to say this film is without its flaws. Some of the scenes run long and the editing probably could have used some more guidance. But while these ad libbed scenes might have been a downside on the cutting room floor (because, really, where do you cut a scene that has no written ending?), it also might have created some of the film’s best moments.
People keep referring to this film as things like “the female version of the ‘Hangover’,” and maybe there’s some truth to that comparison, but, this cast being almost exclusively women isn’t what this movie is really about. It’s more about the friendships people share and the moments challenging them along the way. “Bridesmaids” shouldn’t be defined as a chick flick or a female “bromance.” Instead, it’s just a stand-out comedy with a stellar cast, one that is definitely worth seeing.
