I don't like to read reviews before I write my own, but this time I did. After seeing Bridesmaids I wasn't blown away by it... at least not as much as all the hype that I'd heard about it from the public and critics alike. I had to check them out and see what everybody liked so much about it. I started with the staples... Ebert and Armond White. Everybody should read Ebert's review just to enjoy the awkwardness (fyi I am reviewing reviews right now... meta!). I read a few other reviews and I came up with a consensus of why everybody liked it... because it proves women actually can be funny and that is such a refreshing surprise from their usual bitching and moaning.Obviously I am saying that sarcastically (mostly). I want to make it clear that I did really enjoy this film. I didn't find it extremely funny, but for a comedy it had fairy good character development (for the main character), and while it relied on broad comedy for the most part it also had some nice little touches that made it so much better than a lot of the poop/fart/cuss type comedies that are out there. I usually criticize a comedy for being a series of skits with no connective tissue. Bridesmaids had a decent through-line, but still felt like a series of skits a lot of the time. Again, better than most but not great. At times I could notice the editing, which I didn't like so much.
I used to be the type of a-hole who wouldn't laugh at something just because I knew everybody else would laugh at it. I played that role long enough and now I genuinely don't find most stuff funny anymore. If I am conversing with you in person and I start to laugh, I might be sorta faking it. I mean, there is a chance you would say something funny enough to make me audibly express joy. Nothing against you though. I laugh on the inside. Bridesmaids had me chuckling to mayself a few times but the rest of the theater was going crazy. We had some whooping and hollering type of lose-your-shit laughter that I could barely stand. Is it really that funny for somebody to poop in a sink? I guess... if that person is fat and she is wearing a formal... so you got me there.
Despite the idiotic comedy in the bathroom, in that same scene there is the nice almond moment which I enjoyed. Now the plane... That was a pretty funny sequence. I will acknowledge that. Then she starts babbling about a colonial woman on the wing. Too far. Running and tackling... you've lost me. However, there was something about that whole going to Vegas idea that I enjoyed. The fact that I thought about it right there during the film proves how removed I was from the story.
Everybody wants to say Bridesmaids is a "female The Hangover". I see what people are talking about... there are some of the same elements... the creepily weird fat sibling for one. They had to know the comparison was going to be made when they were making the movie. It felt like a very self-aware move to put in the film that they were going to Vegas for the bachelorette party... and then on the plane ride there totally kill that plot line. Its like they were teasing us with how close to The Hangover they could get, but then show us that this movie is nothing like it. I could be over thinking it... I dunno.
Bridesmaids worked really well for me. Even the fairly bland predictable plot was executed well. I thought the journey of the main character was satisfying. I didn't like the interactions between her and the best friend. They felt cheap and unearned. Even though that relationship was the impetus for the whole film, for me it was one of the weakest parts. The sentimental moments at the end didn't have much impact. I think the love story aspect of the movie worked okay though. It was a long movie that had a lot of stuff going on. They could have trimmed it down a little bit, but it wasn't horrible. The second half of the movie ditches a lot of the tertiary characters and gets down to business or it probably could have gone well over 2 hours. It wasn't ever boring, but a few scenes did wear out their welcome a bit.
One cool thing is that the cast is made up entirely of women. There are men in the movie, but they say almost nothing. It was pretty cool to see that. The men were the ones there to be flat characters driving along the plot. That is usually what the girls are for. That was nice. Go see it. If you are a chick you will like it more than a guy. Don't stay for the credits... things get wild with a hoagie. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to eat Subway again.
7 adorable lab puppies out of a possible 10
Filed Under: Apatow, Comedy, Review, Wigg