A great comedy for girls and guys

Rating: 9/10 (13 May 2011)

I had been hoping that this would be another great comedy to add to the Apatow group, and my hopes were fulfilled. This time around, producer Judd Apatow has called on director Paul Feig to do a movie with the main characters being women.
Kristen Wiig from Saturday Night Live plays Annie, a former baker who has been out of business for a while. Maya Rudolph plays Lillian, Annie's best friend who announces that she is engaged and wants Annie to be her maid of honor. Starting with the engagement party, we are introduced to the other bridesmaids. The one bridesmaid that is mostly focused on is Helen, played by Rose Byrne. The story shifts to Helen trying and succeeding at stealing Annie's power as maid of honor. Every time Annie comes up with an idea on something to do related to the wedding or bridesmaids, Helen tries to outdo her.
Most of the focus is on Annie and the fact that she feels like Helen is trying to replace her and be better than her. I think what Wiig does so well in this role is how she makes us feel sympathy for her and want her to find a way out of her slump. I felt like cheering for her and wanted her to fix her life and stand up for herself. One scene I thought Wiig did really well was an outburst scene because she did great at showing her rage without going over the top. This film was a great starring vehicle for Kristen Wiig.
Byrne is great at being the snobby, over-achieving Helen. What Byrne does well is being the prissy snob that makes us want to hate her for what she is doing to Annie. At the same time, she is cool because of the strings she is able to pull to get what she wants.
Rudolph does some fine work in her part. She is likable at first because she is a good friend. Eventually, she is not there for Annie, and ends up turning on her.
I also enjoyed the other bridesmaids in their parts. Ellie Kemper, who plays Erin on The Office, has some great scenes. She plays a young wife who says some stupid things and realizes she hasn't lived. Melissa McCarthy is a riot as Megan, who is smart, crazy, and ends up helping Annie in her time of need. Wendi McLendon-Covey is the other one, who does a fine job. Most of her screen time is her complaining about her home life.
The story is a hilarious one. Even though most of the ensemble is women, there are plenty of laughs for the guys as well. Most of the situations in the films are funny for everyone. Don't let the makeup of the main cast fool you. This movie is plenty of funny and is very entertaining.