When I first heard of Bridesmaids, I avoided it like the plague
because it was produced by Judd Apatow, who’s been cranking out countless "funny"
comedies over the past few years that weren’t really funny, such as the insipid
Get Him To The Greek (and why does everybody in Hollywood think Russell Brand is
so funny, anyway? Seriously, is he getting so much work because he’s blackmailing
the right people?). Apatow has shown that he isn’t proud; he’ll always go for the
low-brow humor every time, if need be--because, after all, that’s just what the
great, unwashed masses want, right? Meh.
But I found myself drawn to Bridesmaids because of its star, Kristen Wiig. She
was the best thing in MacGruber, making me laugh out
loud in one scene. Wiig also gave a fine performance in Paul,
where she held her own against the geeky chemistry of Nick Frost and Simon Pegg.
And here she stars, as well as co-wrote, Bridesmaids. But another actress in
Bridesmaids also drew me to this film. Rose Byrne has had a very good year in
movies, also starring in Insidious and
X-Men: First Class and doing an impressive job with both films. And so with both Wiig and Byrne in the cast, I decided to take a shot with Bridesmaids.
Wiig plays Annie, whose best friend, Lillian (played by the superbly funny Maya Rudolph) is getting married. Annie has been made Lillian’s Maid Of Honor, and promptly engages in a battle of wits with Lillian’s new best friend, Helen (Byrne), a rich, spoiled brat who wants to take over Annie’s job. Hi-jinks ensue. But in this case, they’re actually very funny. Wiig created some generally funny moments, such as the sidesplitting scene in the jewelry store where her Annie winds up trading insults with a snotty kid. And Melissa McCarthy steals the film as the rowdy yet terminally sincere Megan ("I'm glad he's single because I'm going to climb that like a tree.").
Some people have derided Bridesmaids as being nothing more than a female version
of The Hangover. And it basically is. But so what? Women can be just as funny as
the guys. And it’s refreshing to see a marvelous cast of actresses cut loose
like this. Wiig, Byrne, Rudolph and McCarthy are all great (as is the rest of
the cast), and their performances make the film worthwhile. Unfortunately, the
film hit’s a major speed bump with a food poisoning scene in a bridal store
that’s just plain disgusting to watch. But Wiig is a natural at comedy; as long
as she steers clear of Hollywood’s comedy "experts" and follows her own instincts,
she’ll keep going places.
--SF
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