A leap forward

Rating: Null/10 (12 May 2011)

"Bridesmaids are like matrimonial interns." Conversations with other Women (2005)
Is Bridesmaids a Hangover for chicks? In a small way, yes, but Bridesmaids is better, even in the scatological scene where a dress fitting turns into a hilarious disaster as the girls head for the nearest head. I remember a cruder attempt at fundament fun in Hangover.
It's all about best friends Annie (Kristen Whig) and Lillian (Maya Rudolph) preparing for Lillian's wedding with Annie as a maid of honor who is clueless about arranging a wedding. The conflict arises when another maiden challenges her for best-friend status and maid of honor honors.
Bridesmaids has its share of stereotypes: cute but amorously lost Annie (Kristin Wiig), plain but lovable affianced Lillian (Maya Rudolph), fat and randy Megan (Melissa McCarthy), perfectly pretty, wealthy snob Helen (Rose Byrne), et al. Yet amidst these types we've seen before is a story of loss and redemption not so heavily attended to in other Judd-Apatow produced romcoms.
Director Paul Feig lets the pathos in when the comedy needs a rest, and writers Wiig and Annie Mumolo infuse the dialogue with an unusual intelligence. Unfortunately the off-beat wit ends as the film sags midway with Annie's emotional and amorous problems struggling with jealousy over Helen's high-end bridal arrangements and combat with selfish lover Ted (Jon Hamm) and blue collar cop Rhodes (Chris O'Dowd).
The film revives when the requisite going-to-Vegas breakout happens even before the girls get there—on the plane in some set pieces about drugs and booze and flight attendants that sure beat Snakes on a Plane and Airport for a smart mix of slapstick and satire.
Bridesmaids is a leap forward for intelligent comedy where characters overcome stereotypes to be memorable and insightful about the challenges 30-something women face in a society where their voices are more frequently heard above the din of dim-witted boy men.
But the best was at the beginning when the girls are overcome with bad food that poisons their dress fitting and provides the best potty shenanigans ever, spilling over, so to speak, into sink and street.