Bridesmaids

"Bridesmaids"
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Jon Hamm, Chris O'Dowd
Directed by: Paul Feig
125 minutes
2011/USA

The truth about Bridesmaids, another raunchy comedy plucked from the Judd Apatow assembly line, is that it generally works solely based on its humor, and female targeted Hangoverish appeal. What makes this a better film than The Hangover, is that it's at least grounded and based in some sort of identifiable reality. If you've seen the trailer, you know what you're in for. The film mostly follows a group of rag-tag females as they prepare to send their best friend Lillian (Rudolph) off into matrimony. The film presents a laundry list of comedic situations, some less juvenile and profane than others, but for the most part they hit their mark.

The real star here is Kristen Wiig as Annie, whose life is stuck in some sort of catastrophic limbo due to her past bakery business going under, and the failure of her current suitor played by Jon Hamm, to recognize her as anything more than a sex-buddy. Wiig has made her name on SNL as probably the most consistent comic  on the show in the last five years or so. Now, it appears as though Wiig can probably ditch SNL, and make the transition into doing more films. She's plenty good here, equipped with her usual awkward and deadpan shtick, she manages to propel this into an above average film.

Along for the ride are the other four bridesmaids. Most notable is the obnoxious and rather blunt Megan, played by Melissa McCarthy. She fills the Zach Galifianakis hangover role, but her character isn't as crass or severely off the radar as Allan from The Hangover. McCarthy's character actually has a brain, and functions as something more than a female "man-child." I suppose Rose Byrne would have to be placed in the villainous role, although she's hardly menacing. The central aspect of the film is the tug-of-war between Annie and Byrne's character Helen to win over Lillian. Yeah, what do we care right? The film actually takes some time to humanize Helen, quite possibly too late into the film, but at least it's there for us.

Bridesmaids carries on way too long, clocking in at a little over two hours. I'd venture to say that 65-70 % of the gags work, while the others feel out of place and tacked on. There are many things that I'd cut out, possibly Annie's interactions with her mother, and some of the roommate stuff. Other than Jon Hamm, there's another love interest throw in. Chris O'Dowd plays Rhodes, a semi-charming and overall decent guy who weaves in and out of the film, mainly to show Annie how she could have a good man and an respectable lifestyle if she would just smarten up.

For a film like this to work, you have to have a likable cast, and an appealing lead character. Wiig, Rudolph, Byrne, Hamm, etc all fit the bill here, and judging from my screening of about 25 people, Bridesmaids should play very well for young and old audiences. While the raunchiness is toned down toward the final segments of the film, the script does start to focus more on "life kicking the shit out of you" if you let it mentality. This idea of personal struggle, maturity, and friendship may not seem authentic to others, but I appreciate Bridesmaids for at least incorporating it in an above average, yet slightly watered down manner.

Grade: 3.5/5