Comedy Movie

Rating: 9/10 (26 February 2014)

Bridesmaids directed by Paul Feig, introduced a movie not only for women, but also for men. It was released to theaters on May 13, 2011 and was a box office success. This movie brought in the raunchiness of The Hangover, but appealed it to women. It showed the main characters as a "Group of women friends who are as unbehaved as the guys in "The Hangover"" (Ebert). Its crude humor made it appeal to both sexes and this is one of the most important elements of this film. "A woman's point of view is one of the film's great distinctions" (Morgenstern). Based on the trailer I did not believe it was going to be a very comical movie, but once hearing all the good words about it, I had to see it for myself. I thought the movie was going to be a typical maid of honor story, but I was happily surprised. The movie obtained great reviews from reputable sources; it had compelling characters, a comical plot, and incredible writing. IMDb rated Bridesmaids (Feig, 2011) a 6.9 out of 10, which is higher than average, but I think it could have been better. Roger Ebert had the right idea and gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and he believed that this movie made an attempt to cross the line from "chick flick" into Raunch comedy. Entertainment Weekly also believed this idea, "Bridesmaids begins to leave every cookie-cutter ''chick flick'' miles behind" (Gleiberman). This movie was not afraid to cross the line and this was shown during a lesbian kiss during the plane scene. Bridesmaids (Feig, 2011) showed the audience that men and women have an equal playing field and that even romance films can be for both sexes. Rolling Stone writer Peter Travers believed that the only downside of the movie was when it was trying to resemble and compete with The Hangover. Some people could have believed the movie contained too much sexual content, but it was definitely not too graphic. The raunchiness of the film added an extra uniqueness to this popular female dominated comedy.
The cast did a spectacular performance of their roles especially Melissa McCarthy. Her character Megan was a highlight of the movie because of her quirky and strange personality. Most of the audience's favorite scenes included Megan in a substantial way, such as the bridal shop food poisoning scene and the plane scene. In the plane scene she had great interactions with the "air marshal," who in reality is her husband. This was an interesting addition to the film. McCarthy was not the only great supporting role. Rose Byrne who played Helen adapted right into her pushy and insufferable character (Morgenstern). One of the best parts of the movie was at the engagement party when Annie and Helen had to deliver speeches and it turned into a competition of who was a better friend to Lillian. Feig took a simple moment and expanded it into one of the most remembered scenes. Kristin Wiig was extraordinary and definitely excelled not only as an actress, but as a writer. In the movie she brought in some of her own mannerisms and made the character of Annie seem more real, and created a three-dimensional character (Gleiberman). Annie had a sad and hard life, which the audience could easily relate too. Annie lost her business and had to work in a job, which she hated. She had terrible roommates, a confusing love life, and a horrible car, which all combined to a train wreck of a life (Morgenstern). The main plot featured Annie and Helens' feud and through out the movie it progressed into funnier moments. The passive aggressive remarks towards each other developed the tension and the comedy in the film. There were multiple characters in the movie and one great thing about it was that it kept "all the members of the bridal party in play" (Ebert). The bridesmaids with the smaller roles developed along with the main characters. The character Becca slowly started to discover herself as she got to know Rita. The movie took a short time to look into their newfound friendship. There were not very many male characters, but the two that are predominately shown, did a great job. "Jon Hamm scores howls as a man-whore, and Chris O'Dowd excels as an Irish cop sweet on Annie" (Travers). Something that was probably not necessary was the addition of Annie's roommates. They did not support the story line and the movie could have done without them. Even though they provided some humor, they were only in about three short scenes. The writing by Kristin Wiig and Annie Mumolo made the film as popular as it is. The comical phrases such as, "I'm gonna climb him like a tree", "It's coming out of me like lava", and "help me I'm poor," have become very quotable and memorable (Bridesmaids). The movie did not focus its attention on the romance side rather than on its comical side. The dysfunctional characters coming together in one bridal party was a simple idea, which had great results. Bridesmaids (Feig, 2011) is a movie, which lifts audiences' spirits when they are low. It is a movie, which will bring tears to your eyes and laughter in the room. Each character in the movie played their role to their best ability and achieved great popularity for their film.