Review of Bridesmaids (2011) by Stevenf — 17 Aug 2013

As producer Judd Apatow has said, Bridesmaids doesn't really break any new ground, a popular and crowd-pleasing genre in the form of weddings, but the difference here is the believability of it all, the crudeness, ridiculousness and competition, how one girl getting married affects her best friend, who struggles with what she perceives to be a mediocre life compared to her lucky friend. Kristen Wiig writes and stars in this witty comedy as Annie, a former bakery owner who soldiers on in a jewellery store she doesn't enjoy and an apartment she shares with two eccentric individuals.

Her friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is the lucky bride to be, the two have known each other for a very long time, but weighing in on the friendship is the rich and beautiful Helen (Rose Byrne), who attempts to take control of proceedings away from Annie, besting her at every turn with her fortune and looks, while Annie struggles with her own life financially as the bridesmaids begin to suit up for the wedding. We are also introduced to a kind-hearted policeman called Rhodes (Chris O'Dowd) who remembers Annie from the bakery she use to own, and he begins attempting to turn her back to baking again.

But one cannot write a Bridesmaids review without mentioning Melissa McCarthy, who undoubtedly delivers some of the crudest but funniest parts of the film, her confidence, unwomanly attitude yet surprising occupation complete a very interesting and comical character. She isn't put into the stereotypical "large woman" woman role where the rest of the cast pokes fun, but her personal quips about herself will have you laughing and repeating them after the film ends. Several moments throughout the film stand out, but a particular dress fitting that ends rather differently than usual is one of the shining moments of the film, but what we also get is memorable characters, ones who may not appear onscreen as much as others but still have plenty of tricks up their sleeves, a character-driven comedy is hard to see in the current age of slapstick and sight gags, but we see relationships break and remake throughout the film. It has a fun time but also gives us a message of sticking to it no matter what might happen.

There is plenty to like about Bridesmaids, it has a witty and realistic setting of a script and gives the women a chance to have their own party, and what a party it turns out to be.