Bridesmaids Review
There is a profound and significant difference between men and women, so it is no surprise that a movie which claims to be the female version of “The Hangover” is profoundly and significantly different. Bridesmaids is a smart, sweet, clever, and extremely funny movie. It is not nearly as raunchy, or as debaucherous as it’s trailers, and ads suggest. I am not saying that is a bad thing, but don’t go into this movie expecting naked asian men jumping from the trunk of a car.
As I said above the movie is very funny, but sometimes there are moments of real awkwardness, which while funny are so painful to watch you just want them to end. I found that most of the movie could fall into three categories: The awkward, too painful to watch, so it is funny comedy; the over the top crazy behavior, so it is funny comedy; and the gross out defecating in the street, so it’s funny comedy. Of course the reality is that all of the things that happen in the movie could easily happen to anyone and that is what makes the movie so honest, and funny.
Kristin Wiig plays Annie, a thirty something woman who’s failure in love is only matched by her failure in business, and well to be honest, life in general. Annie has been having a very rough few months. First, her bakery business failed. Second her boyfriend dumped her, and her current “man friend,” played pitch perfectly by Jon Hamm is a stereotypical male douche bag ("I really just want you to leave, but I don't want to sound like a dick.") And lastly her roommates are a couple of English twits who are equal parts creepy, mildly incestuous and generally nauseating. All of this is where Annie starts out, and we spend most of the movie watching in horror as she collapses further and further until she eventually hits rock bottom. When she does hit bottom she proceeds to have a final cataclysmic tantrum that can only be analogous to a three year old's tantrum. Despite being difficult to watch, it is hilarious, and one of the most memorable moments in the movie. The entire cast is very well put together, adding the perfect amount of spice to this cupcake of a movie. My only worry is that the cast is so large that some characters (two in particular) are given too little to do, and in my opinion may have a boatload of unused jokes on the cutting room floor.
There is a line when a comedy goes too far, when a movie takes that joke too far, and it becomes unfunny, or in poor taste. This line serves as a point in which a joke should be taken to, but not past. It is a delicate and fine line to be sure, and because of that comedy is the most difficult thing to to well. My only complaint about Bridesmaids is that it is too afraid to pass that line. In fact more often than not it prevents itself from even getting close to it. I started my review talking about the profound and significant differences between men and women. Bridesmaids is going to serve as a perfect example of this statement. The movie will more than likely be perceived, especially by women, as an instant classic. I don’t think that many men will agree. I, as a man, agree that it is a good movie, but I cannot agree with anyone who claims that Bridesmaids is an instant classic. The movie is successful at being funny, and at least two moments in the movie left me bent over, and in tears; however, it is hard to respect a movie when it forcibly pulls it’s own punches. The fact that the movie refuses to take risks is why I cannot call it an instant classic.
Let me know what you think when you see the movie.
