Superbly acted, believably scripted, and delightfully vulgar: all in one.

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2011)

Today, I got out to see Bridesmaids, a raunchy female-driven comedy that stars Kristen Wiig as Annie, a woman in her 30's, living in Milwaukee, and crumbling under personal crises. She's gone through a bad break up, has been forced to shut down her bakery, and has also been chosen by her recently engaged best friend, Lillian (Played by Maya Rudolph), to be the maid of honor at her wedding, but due to this wedding, Annie fears that she may lose the one relationship she's been clinging desperately to, and along the way, discovers that she needs to get her own priorities in line.
Director Paul Feig, and especially screenwriters Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig delight in blending real human flaws and quirks with gross out gags and snappy one-liners, while still being able to retain control of character development. The movie is very sweet and thoughtful, and it's also the funniest movie I've seen this year, so far, even if not everything in the picture works. It has a slight tendency to drag, and a hit or miss romance subplot between Annie and an Irish cop.
But where would this movie be without its great ensemble cast? One of the main cast standouts is obviously Wiig. She gives it her all in a quirky, and quietly subtle performance that holds the whole movie together. She proves she's got lead star chops to spare, so I'll be waiting in line for her next movie.
Not to be forgotten is co-cast standout, Rose Byrne, who plays Lillian's rich, over preparing friend, Helen, with whom Annie is constantly competing with, and whenever Byrne takes the stage, she doesn't disappoint.
Then there's Melissa McCarthy, who earns some of the biggest laughs in the movie as Megan, the raunchy sister of Lillian's fiancé. They're just the tipping point of a great cast that also includes Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, as well as the final film appearance of Jill Clayburgh. These cast members give it their best, and Bridesmaids benefits immeasurably from that.
I'm gonna give it *** out of ****