Directed by Paul Feig, Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Rose Byrne. Bridesmaids (2011)


What’s It About?

IMDB says: “Picked as her best friend’s maid of honor, lovelorn and broke Annie (Wiig) looks to bluff her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals with an oddball group of bridesmaids. “


What We Thought:
Lindsay: Let me just get this out right at the gate. Bridesmaids is NOT “the female Hangover” as other critics and the trailer may lead you to believe. It’s a combination of Kristen Wiig wit and Apatow signature humor. It’s R-rated raunchy with a whole lot of heart. Don’t let the trailers fool you or stop you from seeing this film. Kristen Wiig (playing Annie) is hysterical and the supporting cast is full of talented actors playing authentic characters. As I’m sure Jess will agree with me, the best friends in the film and in real life (Maya Rudolph and Wigg) act like real best friends do. They don’t screech and act ridiculous, they are silly and true. Adding to that, the love interest played by Chris O’Dowd is a breath of fresh air, completely charming and funny. I will say that this is one of the funniest Apatow produced comedy to date, but it does have a few issues. Largely the fact that besides Annie and Helen (Rose Bryne) the rest of the bridesmaids are introduced with real potential, and then they are dumped midway through the movie. I enjoyed how the movie played out but couldn’t help but I think I was really missing out with the other characters. I also wondered, what if this did take the Hangover route, to a certain extent. It really could have been a hell of a lot of fun.
Jess: While I have to agree with Lindsay that Bridesmaids did not tell the story I was expecting, I was really surprised by how much I loved this movie. It was a breath of fresh air for a female ensemble comedy to be smart and hilarious. Kristen Wiig is truly one of my favorite comedic actors at this point, and this is her movie. She is perfect in her role as a complete mess, which you may have seen previously by Katherine Heigl, but this time without being completely annoying and intolerable. Wiig actually seems like a real woman, even if her temper is extreme. I definitely agree with Lindsay that her and Rudolph have conversations that seem completely real. My favorite parts of this movie involve Chris O’Dowd’s character who couldn’t help but crush on during this film. He plays a sweet and funny love interest and I thought his and Wiig’s storyline was great. This movie had me laughing pretty much nonstop and only left me with a few beefs. I would have loved to see more of Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey (the lost bridesmaids as I would like to call them). They were set up as great characters and were barely seen from again after the first half. Also, the wedding scene was a bit too cheesy for me, even though I guess that was the point. Overall, I recommend this movie to any comedy-lover and think it might just be my favorite of the year. 

Rob: Bridesmaids is a very funny movie. It was refreshing to see a movie with a plot centered around a wedding that pushed the level of comedy instead of just being a generic romantic comedy. There were a few jokes that came as a surprise and resulted in a couple hearty laughs. Also, a lot of scenes in the trailer don’t make into the film, so there are some surprises there. But, the movie flows well and it doesn’t feel like stuff was necessarily left out, just shuffled around. The movie also had a lot of serious scenes. Toward the second half of the movie, Kristen Wiig’s character goes through some life moments, but it spawns from a couple of funny scenes and there are some laughs peppered in, so the movie doesn’t slow down and lose momentum. They assembled a good cast for Bridesmaids. Everyone did a good job in their roles and it would’ve been nice if they had some more screen time. Overall though, the movie was fun to watch and was a fairly quick two hour film.

Nick: The movie is essentially an Apatow film for the ladies. It’s got your usual sight gags and jokes of an Apatow film, but its delivered by a stellar all female cast lead by the incomparable Kristen Wiig. Wiig and company are hilarious and brings something many comedies have been lacking lately; women. Most of the big budget laugh-out-loud comedies have been from the usual suspects starring the usual suspects. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson, or Simon Pegg and Nick Frost comedy, but its been a long time since we’ve seen such a dominant female cast. Kristen Wiig, as if I haven’t mentioned her name enough, is dynamite and she really excels whenever she shares the screen with Maya Rudolph. It was a pleasant surprise seeing Chris O’Dowd (IT Crowd) in a larger movie role. He held his own really well and let his humor and charm speak for itself. But as much comedic talent as there is, it all gets overshadowed by one woman; Melissa McCarthy. There wasn’t a moment where she was on screen and I wasn’t laughing. She brings the funny and brings it hard. Most of the scenes with her left me in tears. Yeah it’s got some pacing issues and drags at times, but there is so much humor you tend to look over it. It does feel a bit over saturated with characters, but, as previously stated, they keep delivering joke after joke after joke so you tend not to notice it much.


FTS SCORE:
80%
61-89% = Really enjoyable movie. It may not be perfect in all aspects but it was worth the watch.

p.s. Cock Baby