“Why can’t you be happy for me and then go home and talk about me behind my back like a normal person?”
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Rose Byrne
The girls are taking over! With women fronting the comedy of the year (yes, I just awarded it that title), Bridesmaids is perhaps one of the best female driven films of all time.
When Annie’s best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) gets engaged, Annie (Kristen Wiig) is naturally given the responsibility of being her maid of honour. With this role she feels extremely pressured by Lillian’s other close friend Helen (Rose Byrne) to give Lillian the most amazing bridal shower and bachelorette party she can. However things soon take a turn for the worse when other pressures see Annie lose her job, her house and her treasured maid of honour title.
It’s so refreshing to see women take the reins for once. Men are often dubbed the funny ones and hearing of a good comedienne – ones that can actually make you laugh – is rare. Thankfully though, the Bridesmaids cast is brimming with talented and genuinely funny women.
Kristen Wiig takes the lead by far. The story is focused mainly on her character and so the film really gave her an opportunity to show people how funny she can be. Whether it was through teenage jealously, a dead-end relationship or being an anxious flyer, Wiig makes sure to make the audience laugh in every scene she’s in. Rose Byrne is great as the jealous friend who only wants to prove her worth as a woman, maybe brought on by her under-attentive husband. Money can’t buy you everything, as she soon learns. Maya Rudolph who plays Lillian is another star waiting in the wings. Seemingly stuck between her two best friends Annie and Helen, all that she really cares about is whether her wedding is going to run smoothly. As for Melissa McCarthy, wow! I didn’t realise just how great she was. For me she was the most surprising and consequently the most exciting to watch. With her character Megan being so macho and having a very regimented look upon life, her reactions to fairly normal situations thrown at her are hilarious. I think she’s a very underrated actress. The girls have fantastic chemistry together. The camaraderie is apparent and the six of them fit very well together.
Director Paul Feig had previously worked on films like Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin, however Bridesmaids is his biggest grossing film yet. He obviously knows his way around a comedy and seeing an opening in the market for a female driven comedy had been too much of a temptation. Not only was it a risk but it was a challenge, one which he has obviously succeeded in.
It has been dubbed the women’s version of The Hangover countless times but I think it should stand on its own platform. A brilliant female fronted comedy that has set the bar for the next big comedy to roll out of Hollywood. You go, girls!
Star rating: 8/10
Directed by Paul Feig.
Running time 125 minutes.
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