One of the Few Rom-Coms I Can Enjoy

Rating: 9/10 (2 November 2011)

Of my entire DVD collection, there are only a handful of romantic comedies because, no offense to fans of the genre, most of them are total crap. Predictable, corny, and shallowI would rather suffer through a Uwe Boll marathon than watch the average romantic comedy. Leave it to producer Judd Apatow and rising star Kristen Wiig to actually make a romantic comedy worth watching. It's a chick flick that despite it's themes of female friendship/bonds, weddings, and relationships, is still funny enough for men to enjoy. Any doubts in my mind were erased when I saw this film in theaters and a scene was so disgusting that it caused a group of elderly women who didn't know what they were getting into to leave the theater muttering about how filthy the movie is (for the record, it was the infamous dress shopping/food poisoning scene). The movie follows the character of Annie (Wiig) as her life essentially falls apart around her. She hates her job, lives with a pair of obnoxious roommates, and the closest thing she has to a relationship is "no strings attached" sex with a man who laughs at the thought of an actual relationship. She holds on well enough until her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) announces that she's gotten engaged. Of course, Annie is going to be her maid of honor but there appears to be some competition in the form of Lillian's new friend/wife of her fiancé's boss, Helen (Rose Byrne). Helen is wealthy, tasteful, and impeding on Annie's territory. As the wedding draws near, the two butt heads over everything from the dresses to the wedding shower, but there can be only onewait, wrong movie.
Kristen Wiig deserved this movie. She's one of the best talents to come from SNL in recent years and she's provided some hilarious supporting performances movies like MACGRUBER and PAUL. This movie is her chance to be a leading woman and she knocks it out of the park. I love the awkwardness Wiig infuses into her characters; her character feels really genuine in this movie. She's struggling to get by and luck just isn't on her side. She means well as she tries to help Lillian plan her wedding but her plans just turn into disaster, and Helen is there to take advantage of every misstep. I feel like I've seen Rose Byrne has been everywhere lately; I know I've got at least 2-3 other films she's been in this year. No complaints though, because she's great. She's proved her comedic chops in GET HIM TO THE Greek and she continues her excellent work here. She's snotty, overbearing, and self-centered without coming off as a caricature. And then there's the A+ supporting cast giving their best here: former SNL alum Maya Rudolph, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Ellie Kemper. Melissa McCarthy stands out as probably the funniest bridesmaid in the crew. She's been compared a lot lately to being the Zach Galifianakis of the BRIDESMAIDS team and it's pretty accurate. She's the schlubby, socially inept goofball of the group and steals most scenes. Finally, there's Chris O'Dowd and Jon Hamm as Annie's love interests and opposite ends of a spectrum, both providing some great laughs (especially Hamm).
Earning almost $300 million worldwide, BRIDESMAIDS was a blatant success and proves that romantic comedies don't have to be mass-produced from the same mold. I'm hoping the cash this movie banked will convince filmmakers to put some creative energy into future rom-coms instead of flooding the market with cheap garbage. I'm glad to see Kristen Wiig getting so much attention from this film and I hope that means she'll be getting more leading roles in the future. This movie is hilarious and has a lot of feeling behind it. If there is a comedy where men and woman can come together and both enjoy it, it's this one.