Review: Bridesmaids


I saw the Kristin Wiig vehicle a while ago and figured I would give my opinion of the film. The movie has done very well at the box office. It has been described as a female version of The Hangover. If you have not seen the film yet, let me tell you that it is not in any way close to The Hangover and that is a good thing. The film is far from perfect but it is a pretty funny take on the pressures of womanhood, weddings, family, and the consequences of eating tainted Brazilian food. I had my reservations about seeing this one because of a few reasons. 1. Kristen Wiig overdose. I am an avid watcher of Saturday Night Live and feel that the last two seasons has been saturated by Ms. Wiig. Don’t get me wrong. She’s a funny comedienne and she has a great delivery but enough is enough already. I want some other people to get their chance to shine. 2. The Judd Apatow effect. His movies usually walk the fine line between heartfelt and juvenile hijinks. Unfortunately, the movies also are usually 20 minutes too long, except for Superbad. 3. A predominantly female cast in a hard “R” movie could be disastrous. I don’t prescribe to the John Belushi philosophy of comedy in which females are inherently unfunny. I was just nervous that the ladies might try too hard to get a laugh and forget to have a sensible plot. Here is my breakdown of the film.


The Good:

The movie is actually funny. The movie, when it is clicking on all cylinders, offers a very sharp critique of the male/female dynamic. There is a conversation between Mya Rudolph, who plays the bride to be, and Kristen Wiig when they talk about the tendency for men to physically intimidate females into fellatio. I’m not going to lie, it was funny as hell and accurate. Melissa McCarthy, from Mike and Molly fame, steals every scene she is in. Imagine Chris Farley and give him bigger boobs and you have the tour de force that is Megan. She is foul and fierce. I have to give Ms. McCarthy credit for going all out for her character because she was WAY out there in this film. Wendi McLendon-Covey, from Reno 911!, was funny for her brief role as Rita. She had great chemistry with the cast, especially Ellie Kemper. I wish her role could have been expanded. The entire sequence when the ladies got fit for their dresses was hilarious. It got very graphic but it also produced the biggest laughs. The ensemble had good chemistry with one another. I was impressed.


The Bad:

While the movie was funny, there was definitely a disconnect for the men in the audience or at least that is how I felt. There were only two male characters of any significance and they were both clichéd stereotypes. You had the prototypical asshole, Ted, played to slimy perfection by Jon Hamm. Then there was prototypical good guy, Officer Nathan Rhodes, played by the affable Chris O’Dowd. Both men could be seen as “static characters”. There was no depth. I wasn’t really that impressed. The second complaint I had was with Rose Byrne as the antagonist to Kristen Wiig. I mean the lady is pretty and I saw that she was supposed to personify the perfectionist, über-groomed, trophy wife. Even when the audience was supposed to sympathize with the character because of the reality of her existence, I wasn’t buying it. She just came off as a snippy bitch. The third complaint about the film as that there was not enough focus on the other bridesmaids. As previously mentioned, I barely got to see Wendi McLendon-Covey. The major complaint I had was that the previews make it seem like there is some big bachelorette blowout in Vegas; some payoff that could actually equate to the drunken shenanigans of The Hangover. No dice! My girlfriend was distressed by the entire lack of female companionship in the film. Kristen Wiig dominated the screen and it was cool, but like Saturday Night Live, I think a less concentrated dose of Ms. Wiig could have helped. And there is a brother/sister sub plot in the film which is completely unnecessary. They are annoying and unpleasant on many levels.


The Truth:

Despite the nitpicking, I actually had a pretty good time seeing this one. It wasn’t the best comedy I have seen but it definitely made me laugh a few times. Were some of the scenes too long? Yep. Could the rest of the cast been developed more? Hell yeah. Did the movie leave the audience satisfied? I would say so. When I went to the movies, there were women singing and laughing in the theater. I am not the boisterous type, but the film was definitely geared for the ladies. If you are of the female persuasion, or have ever been a bridesmaid, you will probably think this movie is your Shawshank Redemption. My fellow brethren, if you are coerced into seeing this film, fret not, there are just enough laughs to keep you cognizant of the estrogen laced plot with just a dash of outrageousness.