Anchorman, Superbad, The 40 Year-Old
Virgin… Producer Judd Apatow has helped make the last seven years a lot
funnier. Meanwhile, fans of mainstream female-focused comedies have
mostly been offered insipid J-Lo vehicles and Sex And The City movies.
Thankfully, Apatow has turned his attention to the fairer sex, although
most members of this bridal party are far from coy. Kristen Wiig’s Annie
has a blunt wit, a regular fuck-buddy (Mad Men’s Jon Hamm) and could
drink Bridget Jones right under the table. She also has a tendency for
self-doubt and a problem with organisation, both of which come to the
fore when she’s asked to play Maid Of Honour for Maya Rudolph’s Lillian.
Co-writer
Wiig has created a heroine with bitterly funny, relatable character
observations and a genial, down-to-earth performance. Annie is no
clotheshorse tripping in her heels, nor is she man-obsessed. She may go
for the wrong kind of guys but her main concern is a female friendship,
and it’s this that makes Bridesmaids stand out from the regular
chick-flick crowd.
Lillian’s
engagement is a wake-up call for Annie, casting a spotlight on her
singledom. The last thing Annie needs is an immaculate rich bitch
upstaging her at every opportunity. Enter Rose Byrne as Helen. The
mistress of the backhanded compliment, Helen’s always on hand with a
patronising comment about Annie’s bridal party preparations. She also
gives the nervous flyer something to calm her down on a plane, leading
to the film’s funniest scenes.
At
its best, Bridesmaids is proper, laugh-out-loud, sides-clutching,
grin-at- your-mates funny. The airplane scenes see a sky-high Annie
trying to sneak into first class to join her friends, even failing in
her attempts to insult the air hostess. Meanwhile, each character has a
subplot building, including Megan (Melissa McCarthy), who’s confidently
cracking onto a man she’s convinced is an air marshal. When these
strands come together, it’s explosively hilarious — just like the bridal
shop scene where the girls get sudden, debilitating food poisoning.
Like many a guys’ comedy, the film isn’t afraid to flirt with gross-out,
but doesn’t throw in toilet humour for the sake of it. It makes it
relevant to both plot and character and, just possibly, funny to women
who normally hate that kind of thing.
Regular
Apatow fans will be on the floor at this point, and that’s another
thing that makes Bridesmaids unusual: it appeals to men too. Yes, a lot
of the humour revolves around female rituals and neuroses, but the
writing’s strong enough to bridge the gender gap. It’s no surprise this
has been compared to The Hangover, a buddy-wedding-comedy that drew fans
from both sexes. Bridesmaids even has its very own Alan in Megan, the
outspoken, overweight and somewhat deluded sibling of the groom.
It’s
a shame, then, when Bridesmaids shoehorns in a romance, even if it is
with the lovable Chris O’Dowd. Playing a kindly cop, O’Dowd provides a
shoulder for Wiig’s character to cry on but their scenes cost the film
its pace. Even Matt Lucas (Annie’s flatmate) feels like he’s wandered in
from another film, albeit a very funny one. Still, while Bridesmaids
isn’t perfect, it does have moments of comedy perfection. And precious
little in the way of Manolos.
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