Skip to main content

Review: Bridesmaids

Most addicts won't attempt to change their lives until they have hit rock-bottom. Well, Annie (Kristen Wiig) is addicted to having a terrible life. Her bakery went out of business, her friend with benefits is a self-proclaimed dick (Jon Hamm) and her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married.

That in itself isn't a bad thing, but Lillian is becoming quite chummy with socialite Helen (Rose Byrne). Annie's grip on the one constant in her life is slipping away thanks to some tart with a membership to the country club. That conflict will have to wait for another day though, Lillian has asked Annie to plan her wedding.

Armed with three of the most "unique" bridesmaids she can handle, Annie assembles a hodge-podge gown fitting and meal. Of course a wedding wouldn't be a wedding without a bachelorette party. The hilarity that ensues from each of the events tops each previous scene with glee. We are presented a vignette of all the bridesmaids (Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper, and Wendi McLendon Covey) all of whom are cast perfectly.

Kristen Wiig has been one of the best things going for Saturday Night Live in a long time and her transition to feature comedies will be a breeze. Newcomers Melissa McCarthy and Chris O'Dowd are other actors to look out for in the future. When Annie is onscreen with Rhodes (O'Dowd) and Megan (McCarthy), scenes take on a particular glow. Jon Hamm is seriously hilarious - it will be hard to take Don Draper serious when Mad Men comes back. This cast is tailor-suited for breaking out grins in the audience.

I cannot stress enough how much fun this film is, but like most of Judd Apatow's productions and director Paul Feig's work (creator of the underrated Freaks and Geeks), this is a comedy with a heart. Very few things are a given in life and friendship is usually one of the most turbulent relationships human beings go through. We lose our friends, people drift apart and time moves on, but that place in our hearts is usually never filled.

I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Bridesmaids has set the bar really high for comedies this summer and it is difficult to see anything topping it. Let's raise a glass in a toast to Bridesmaids, for proving chick flicks don't need to have Katherine Heigl, and that women have always been funny, they just need to right film to do it.

***1/2 out of ****

Popular posts from this blog

The Best of the Decade

Over the last ten years, the cinema has given us a great deal to be thankful for: a rebirth of the Batman franchise, a series of examinations of what it means to live in this particular decade, and a mass of character studies whether they be animated or popcorn thrillers. As much as I have enjoyed the offerings, a list must be culled together for the end of the year. Except this year is different, this year ten films must be selected from hundreds. Below are some of the best of the aughts. Enjoy! 10) There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson's magnum opus, a scathing look at extremism in America and the evils of greed and profiteering from religion. It also features the best performance of the decade with Daniel Day-Lewis as oil-man Daniel Plainview. 9)  Up A beautiful tale that entrances all ages,  Up managed to captivate children and tell a tale that adults cherish as well. 8) The Dark Knight Maybe just a comic book film, but it is the best comic book film

Paprika vs. Inception

Months before Inception hit the theaters forums were alive with rumors that Christopher Nolan either accidentally or intentionally stole some details from another film, the Japanese anime Paprika. The biggest point of comparison for some bloggers and forum runners was the fact that both of the films featured a device that allowed a person, or people, to travel into another’s dreams and delve into their subconscious. Minor points of comparison include scenes in Paprika where the character Paprika breaks through a mirrored wall by holding her hand to it, as well as a scene where a police detective falls his way down a hallway. Claims have been made that Inception abounds with imagery similar to or exactly like the anime movie, but with the recent release of the film on DVD and Blu-Ray, and with Paprika available for several years now, an examination of the two plots can be made more fully. Let us begin with the primary claim— Inception stole the idea of a dream

Armond White or: How I Learned to Stop Caring and Ignore the Troll

Whether it is his glowing review of Norbit , his thrashing of Toy Story 3 , or just his general pompousness, you are aware of Armond White. His dismissal of Toy Story 3 came at a convenient time when the film was sitting pretty with a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. "But Toy Story 3 is so besotted with brand names and product-placement that it stops being about the innocent pleasures of imagination—the usefulness of toys—and strictly celebrates consumerism." A claim that could have been taken at face value had he not followed it with this sentiment " Transformers 2 already explored the same plot to greater thrill and opulence." I am sure if one were inclined to interview Michael Bay at his most enlightened he would have never crafted an answer that insightful regarding hidden parables in his Transformers vehicle. White was at his most incensed when forced to sit down and type out his thoughts regarding Precious , but praised Norbit for its reflection o