Bridesmaids. Rated MA15+ (strong coarse language, sexual references and a sex scene). 125 minutes. Directed by Paul Feig. Screenplay by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo.
It is often said about comedy that timing is everything – and if Bridesmaids doesn’t quite sustain its arrival in the realm of tear-inducing hilarity (which it absolutely reaches in one sensational sequence in a posh bridal gown shop), it’s certainly not through want of trying.
It’s not often you laugh until you cry in the cinema much anymore, but the winning bridal gown shop sequence not only charges across the boundaries of good taste, but also successfully crashes through the gender barrier – blissfully escorting Bridesmaids into toilet humour (both metaphorically and actually) territory that is usually reserved for similar movies about blokes.
Annie (Ms Wiig, who also co-wrote the screenplay) is unlucky in love and life generally. Her small bakery business has gone bust, and she has found herself broke, miserable and desperately trying to rediscover her self-esteem. When her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) announces that she getting married, Annie is invited to be Maid of Honour. Will our defeated and directionless heroine be able to rise to the challenges of the occasion?
The success of Bridesmaids all hinges on a delightfully self-deprecating performance from Ms Wiig (who is well-known to American audiences as one of the stars of the hit comedy show Saturday Night Live). It’s a star turn, but without any of the usually attendant vanity and ego. Ms Wiig is supported by an excellent ensemble of characters including Molly (the seriously unhinged sister of Lillian’s fiancé) who is played with ferocious intent by Melissa McCarthy (pictured above, centre), and a fabulous turn by Australian-born Rose Byrne as wannabe socialite Helen.
If there is a fault, it’s that Feig’s experience as a director for television (the US version of The Office, Weeds, Arrested Development) results in an essentially one-dimensional visual engagement with the material. But Bridesmaids’ profound lack of directorial ambition and depth is the only disappointment in a movie that sets a new benchmark in the evergreen ‘Chick Flick’ genre.
This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.
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