Bridesmaids


3/4

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd, Jon Hamm, Melissa McCarthy

Rated R for Some Strong Sexuality and Language Throughout

“Bridesmaids” is being marketed as a female version of “The Hangover,” and that’s not exactly true.  Although it does deal with a wedding, this is part romantic-comedy and part raunchy comedy.  It’s really two movies in one, and while they are not-so-elegantly wed together (the film is way too long), the film works.

Annie (Wiig) is down in the dumps.  Her bakery business went belly up, she has bills (that she can’t pay) up the wazoo, and the man she’s sleeping with (Hamm) only wants her for sex, not a relationship.  Things are going to get a whole lot worse when she agrees to be the maid of honor for the wedding of her life-long best friend, Lillian (Rudolph).

The most important thing a comedy must do is make the viewer laugh, and this does it.  There were a number of sequences where I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe.  And although these big laughs are pretty spaced out, it’s not because they fall flat (although there are a few clunkers).  It’s because the film focuses on the dramatic aspects of Annie’s life (in the beginning of the movie) and her budding romance with a cop (a wonderful Chris O’Dowd).

Kristen Wiig is an adequate comedienne, but she’s a far more effective dramatic actress.  We really feel for her when she’s down in the dumps.  She’s been screwed over so many times that it’s no wonder she’s given up.  Adding more stress to the mix is the fact that Lillian’s soon-to-be sister-in-law, Helen (an unrecognizable Rose Byrne) is Miss Perfect, and tries to prove it every chance she gets.  Melissa McCarthy is hilarious as the token friend without any care for social graces, and Jon Hamm has no problem proving that he’s a cad.  The film’s biggest surprise is Chris O’Dowd as Rhodes, the cop who has an interest in Annie.  Not only does he have burning chemistry with Wiig, he’s impossible not to like.  The spaces between the raunchy bits are worthwhile because he’s so good.  I hope that he gets more roles in the future.

The problem with the film is that it’s way too long.  Many of the scenes in the beginning that show how miserable Annie’s life is could have been cut without us missing the point.  There are also a few comic set pieces that just aren’t as funny as the filmmakers think they are (the first scene of when Annie and Helen try to get the last word in is a case in point).

Still, there’s enough sidesplitting comedy, good natured drama and effective romance that I have no qualms about recommending this film.

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