Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Chris O’Dowd, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 125 mins
Plot: When her lifelong friend Lillian (Rudolph) is engaged to be married, Annie (Wiig) is forced to cope with the pitfalls of being her maid of honour, as well as contending with the difficulties of her own life and love.
An SNL regular for over half a decade, Kristen Wiig has more recently shown up and stolen scenes in Judd Apatow films like KNOCKED UP and WALK HARD, as well as HBO’s FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS and BORED TO DEATH. BRIDESMAIDS is her feature length debut as a co-writer and producer, and is directed by FREAKS AND GEEKS creator Paul Feig, also his directorial debut.Although the marketing (including that shocking pink poster) screams chick-flick, the film itself is a smorgasbord of witty lines, coarse language, literal toilet humour, and general self-deprecation more associated with male dominated films like THE 40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN and SUPERBAD. So yes, it is very funny, but it also has a series of compelling characters who don’t fall headfirst into the standard rom-com template.
The opening five minutes reveal Annie as a woman who is unhappy with her current life. She is in an unfulfilling relationship, she despises her job, and her flatmates are just plain weird. Then her friend Lillian reveals she is getting married and Annie realises that everything is about to change. She is asked to serve as one of Lillian’s bridesmaids along with Rose Byrne (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS), and an ensemble cast of faces from TV comedy, including Melissa McCarthy (GILMORE GIRLS) Wendi McLendon-Covey (RENO 911) and Ellie Kemper (THE OFFICE). Each of the bridesmaids has their own issues to deal with, which gives each of them a personality rather than just having a series of supporting stock characters.
For British comedy fans, it’s good to see Chris O’Dowd succeeding in a production such as this, though his half-Irish, half-American accent is strange to begin with (but quickly forgotten). Some great cameos also come from Terry Crews and John Hamm from MAD MEN, as well as LITTLE BRITAIN’s Matt Lucas.BRIDESMAIDS is not without its shortcomings however. Up until the third act, the film is focused primarily on comedy, but the last twenty minutes are rooted in sentiment. Whilst this doesn’t factor as a drawback at all, it does serve to cement the ‘rom-com’ element, and is a noticeable change of tone from the rest of the film.
Also, the supporting characters of Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and Becca (Ellie Kemper) are almost nowhere to be seen in the last act. After an initial sub-plot introduction for both characters, the film ceases to focus on their problems and they have little resolution to their arcs. Although the film is ultimately about Annie and her story, it feels as if these characters were given a minor sub-plot but with no conclusion and it is unfortunately noticeable.
Overall, despite the few nitpicking problems that are scattered throughout, Bridesmaids is ultimately a very funny film indeed, bringing just the right amount of emotion to compliment the downright vulgarity and obscene humour that is surprisingly layered throughout. It’s great to see Kristin Wiig as a comedienne who is not afraid to get her hands dirty.
