Jay and I saw Bridesmaidslast night and I’m so happy that we did. I was originally hesitant to see it because Kristin Wiig kinda bugs me on Saturday Night Live but I have to admit that she was hilarious in this movie. Before I saw it, it was described to me as the female version of The Hangover. I wouldn’t say that, mainly because the first Hangover movie was a more original idea of a bro-flick and while Bridesmaids is definitely an awesome movie worth seeing in theaters, it’s not the most original of concepts and it definitely shows both good and bad traits about being a woman.
I was familiar with most of the actresses: obviously, I knew K-Wiig and Maya Rudolph from SNL, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Ellie Kemper (Erin on The Office), Jill Clayburgh (R.I.P), Melissa McCarthy nailing the Zach Galifinakis role (Sookie on Gilmore Girls), and Rose Byrne (Ellen on Damages). It was funny – I’ve been on such a Damageskick the past week that I knew Byrne looked familiar but I couldn’t place her until she started crying at the end of the movie (if you haven’t watched Damages, Ellen cries at least once every episode in season 1).
So anyway, back to the movie. The spoiler-free plot is this. Annie (K-Wiig) and Lillian (Rudolph) are bff since childhood. Lillian’s getting married and she makes Annie her maid of honor and four other women her bridesmaids. Bridesmaid Helen (Byrne) is gorgeous and super-rich and has her own ideas for how to run the bridal party duties (bridal shower, bachelorette party, dress fittings, etc). This doesn’t sit well with jealous, financially challenged Annie and the two are in competition against each other for who is the best member of the bridal party. And thus, hilarity ensues. There’s also a love story subplot with mother effing Jon Hamm (he’s uncredited but plays a substantial role) and Chris O’Dowd, who play stereotypical male roles (narcissistic asshole and lovable underdog, respectively).
The plot is predictable but how they get from Point A to Point B is not always done with your typical chick flick plot devices. In fact, I’m fairly certain that the scene that takes place during the bridesmaid dress shopping has probably never, ever been used before in a motion picture with female characters. (If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I’m talking about.) In fact, for a movie dealing with feminine themes, it’s 100% not a complete chick flick. I think that’s the reason I enjoyed it so much. Jay and I both laughed out loud several times. The writing was clever and finally, Wiig’s “schitck” was put to good use. Anyone else who’s seen the movie think that the girl sitting next to Annie on the airplane was basically playing the part that Wiig would have played if she hadn’t co-written the movie?
If you haven’t seen Bridesmaids yet and are looking for a fun comedy with a bit of heart, then I definitely say go check it out. And if you still aren’t interested, they use Fiona Apple’s Paper Bag in it. Seriously. Can’t get much cooler than that. Team Fiona!
