Review: Bridesmaids

jason stives reviews the new comedy written by and starring Saturday Night Live‘s Kristen Wiig …

In Hollywood these days, it’s very hard to avoid genre stereotyping and the unfortunate labels that come with how they are marketed and perceived by the public. In recent years, the R-rated comedy has come roaring back in mainstream interest, only to be played out in a repetitive fashion. Even worse by comparison is the influx of chick flicks and date films, a genre that I proudly say I have a soft spot for but find them of recent memory to be formulaic and not as ambitious as they once were. To much surprise, this is why Bridesmaids, the new comedy directed by Freaks And Geeks alum Paul Feig, not only breaks the slump of both genres but also defies being even associated with them becoming a ruckus coming-of- age comedy with a strong ensemble of great female comedians.

It would be completely wrong to deem Bridesmaids a chick flick, as it is far more than just a run-of-the-mill date film. If you think going in that this is a tale of a woman lost in her way but just needs the right guy to sweep her off her feet, you’re wrong. Saturday Night Live‘s Kristin Wiig and her wonderful supporting cast of female actresses bring a fresh take to girlfriend humor. Not poured on in the awkward and frankly unbelievable way that dialogue from the Sex And The City women spew, these women talk about more than just men but still keep their feet firmly planted in both the single and married woman mind set. They talk about a less than pleasing sex life, they swear, they make wise cracking jokes at each others’ expenses but never take the humor into a stereotypical realm of “it’s all about the bitches.”

More important than avoiding the usual female friends’ stereotype is how appealing and frankly refreshing the main character of Annie Walker is. The benefit of the film’s star being the film’s co-writer (Wiig co-wrote the film with Annie Mumolo) is that a character like Annie doesn’t run into the usual trappings. Walker is a character with dimensions, strong with a feminine mystic, relatable and sympathetic, but with mind-numbing flaws. Her inability to look past her failures as her own undoing makes the hilarity of her pitfalls seem more genuine than they do set up. At first, it’s easy to feel sorry for Annie as she deals with being overtaken in the lime light of her maid of honor status. However, her eventual demise comes at her own jealousy and the fear of losing her best friend as she walks into a married lifestyle makes her weary over any success in love and career.

For all the detractors and avid followers of her work, Kristin Wiig has finally found a vehicle that can break her out of the post-SNL acting slump before she has even left the show. As Annie, she does all that is written above about how her and then some. Sassy, sexy, and quick witted, Wiig brings her doe-eyed sense of predicament and ups it with wild gestures and a foul mouth to boot when she isn’t playing it straight.

At the heart, besides being a well-written character, Annie works so well thanks in part to the supporting roles she plays off of. Maya Rudolph makes on screen friendships seem genuine as Lillian, Annie’s soon-to-be-married best friend. Thanks in part to both comedians’ previous work together on Saturday Night Live, their conversations seem believable and both characters’ fears of change and familiarity play together well. Two pivotal scenes, one between the two at breakfast and the other near the film’s ending when Lillian suddenly develops cold feet delivers some of the most genuine dialogue about life and the feelings of moving on, even if it comes in your mid-30s.

Then there is Helen, the unintentional antagonist of the film and Lillian’s new, wealthy friend, played with believable grace and annoyance by Get Him To The Greek and Insidious star Rose Byrne. Byrne turns the bitch meter up to ten even if that is not the intention. Helen’s observation on an audience level hinders solely on how Annie views her. Rich, coordinated and beautiful, there is a threat level that comes with Helen, and Byrne pours it on to ensure that you are both greatly on the fence about her but willing to except any inevitable change that can (and does) comes to her relationship with Annie during the film.

The film doesn’t go without flaws, and that mainly falls in the bloated running time. At two hours and four minutes, a solid 20 minutes could have been cut from the final product, mainly fat put on to keep the comedic tempo adjacent with the coming-of-age story of Annie. The much touted flight to Vegas seen in the trailers scene goes on too long and minus a couple additional zingers, only serves as the catalyst to Annie’s sudden expulsion from planning the bridal shower. It’s there for logistics but falls flat on execution.

There is also an issue of underdevelopment in some of the supporting roles, mainly the bridesmaids of the title. While hilarious performances by Reno 911 alum Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper (The Office) respectively as a married but not without spark mother Rita and a chipper newly wed named Becca are great, their moments of hilarity are brief but not without a strong comedic punch, thankfully. By film’s end, they are merely background characters and their stories that start out familiar and funny are pretty much done with. However, the standout performance of the group goes to the tough as nails sister of the groom Megan, played with gusto and brashness by Mike And Molly’s Melissa McCarthy. While to some viewed as a crude caricature, Megan ends up serving a lot more purpose to the storyline when she isn’t being foul mouthed or unintentionally vulgar and isn’t repetitive in her delivery, always coming out with a fresh gag.

This isn’t to say that the male roles are not fresh and well executed, even if they are greatly limited. Mad Men star John Hamm pulls off a surprising comedic turn playing a real bastard as Annie’s rich and manipulating f*@k buddy, a man so self absorbed but who easily plays into Annie’s gullible desire for him. The real surprise is that of Irish actor and comedian Chris O’ Dowd’s role as Nathan Rhodes, a state patrolman who catches the eye of Annie after he stops her for a broken tail light. Dowd known for films like Pirate Radio and his role on the hit British sitcom The I.T. Crowd, shows great chemistry with Wiig and puts on a performance acting as both a believable leading man and Annie’s unofficial adviser in helping her break her habits.

What Bridesmaids ultimately offers is something more than its genre defining tags that it undoubtedly has and will receive from those viewing it just on the surface, but it’s much more than that. While not the next Hangover or 40 Year Old Virgin, it acts as a female driven alternative to those titles that both genders of the audience will greatly appreciate for its originality, cleverness, and overall brash take on female friendship and life’s sometimes unfortunate twists and turns.

Rating: 8.5 Out of 10