[pullquote cite=”” type=”left, right”][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=That Film Guy&asin=B006YVW8WM][/pullquote] Judd Apatow has made a name for himself in recent years with lewd, rude and crude comedies such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Superbad and Knocked Up. Bridesmaids follows in the same style, but is clearly aimed and marketed directly at the female demographic, which makes sense as Apatow has been criticised for being misogynistic. Since its release, it has been a commercial smash hit, taking just over $26m on its opening weekend.
Annie Walker (Kristen Wiig) is a 30-something jewellery salesperson whose life a few years back had fallen apart after losing her bakery and her boyfriend. Her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) announces her plans to marry and asks Annie to be her Maid of Honour. The film then follows the pair along with friends Megan (Melissa McCarthy), Becca (Ellie Kemper), Rita (Wendi McLeden-Covey) and Lillian’s potential new best friend Helen (Rose Byrne) in the build-up to the big day.
The comedy in Bridesmaids is a lewd as you’d expect from an Apatow production and it pulls no punches whilst delivery some startling, gross-out moments. Whilst well-paced, it does feel a little episodic, with each event given an equal amount of time to allow the action to build to a crescendo of chaos and anarchy. Melissa McCarthy is the stand-out of all the friends, with her one-liners akin to Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover. In fact the two films share more than a setup.
It seems clear that the makers of Bridesmaids were trying to emulate the success of 2009 smash-hit The Hangover, except aiming it at the female audience. In many ways it succeeds and in more ways it surpasses. This is mainly due to Kristen Wiig and her equal parts confident, cringe-worthy desperate and pathos-inducing sadness that make her the star. She is clearly one to watch as she has been flawless in this and Paul in recent months.
While other films have bigger laughs and a better plot, Bridesmaids is ruder, cruder and all-round filthier than almost anything else out there, which for an almost entirely female cast is rare.
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