When I first heard about “Bridesmaids”, I thought “Great!! A movie I’ll definitely be able to relate to!!”. Having been a bridesmaid thrice, with two more tours of duty coming up soon, this was perfect for me. Well let me just say, thankfully I was not subjected to the insanity that these bridesmaids went through!!
Annie (Kristen Wiig) works for a jewelry store, because the cake shop business that she opened a few years ago failed. She is single, but she has a “bang buddy” who doesn’t treat her very well. She shares her apartment with an albino-looking set of siblings who happen to be British, and are not very nice to her. As her mother (Jill Clayburgh) says, she’s hit rock bottom.
Annie and Lillian (Maya Rudolph) have been best friends forever. When Lillian becomes engaged, she asks Annie to be her maid of honor. Annie accepts, and then the “fun” begins. Also in the bridal party are: Megan (Melissa McCarthy), who is the groom’s sister, Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey), who is married with a few sons and is tired of her husband, Becca (Ellie Kemper) a newlywed, and Helen (Rose Byrne), who is Lillian’s fiance’s boss’s wife. Things are starting to look up for Annie, especially when she catches the eye of a cop, Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd).
Too bad for Annie, from the beginning, Helen tries to out-do everything Annie does. From the toast at the engagement party, to the fancy wedding dress shop she gets the girls into (which unfortunately they visit after lunch that does not sit well with the ladies, if you catch my drift), to the lavish bridal shower she throws (after stealing Annie’s theme idea), she pretty much takes over the maid of honor duties and eventually becomes maid of honor (by sabotaging Annie on the way to the bachelorette party in Vegas – what follows is hilarious yet unfortunate as they do not make it to Vegas because they get thrown off the plane). She does it in such a way that it’s subtle but it really chaps Annie’s hide. Like Annie doesn’t have enough to deal with!!
With a running time of just over two hours, “Bridesmaids” was jam-packed with outrageous moments, and it really took its time with character development. Nothing felt rushed, they really let this one breathe and it made it even better.
I had doubts about Kristen Wiig leading the film, but she exceeded my expectations. She really did a fantastic job with “Bridesmaids”. Although, I felt that a bit of her “SNL” character Penelope (the perpetual exaggerator and one-upper) was peeking through, Annie wasn’t nearly as obnoxious as Penelope. I found myself relating to her character in more than one way. And anyone who has participated in wedding planning, while being single, broke, and borderline depressed will also!! I really thought Melissa McCarthy stole every scene she was in, especially on the airplane ride to Vegas.
Warning: not for the kids!! There was liberal use of the F word as well as inappropriate content. Fine for us adults but not for the kiddies!!
