Damas en Guerra

My friends invited me to a preview screening of Bridesmaids last night, and I accepted the invitation with a sense of cautious optimism. The trailer for the film admittedly didn't do much for me, but I was intrigued by the concept of a female-driven Apatow film. Ultimately, I went into the theater with modest expectations, hoping to get a few good laughs out of it.

By the time we came out of the theater, my three friends and I had smiles plastered across our faces, and we couldn't stop talking about the film for the next couple hours. We all loved it. I think it easily ranks with the best of the Apatow productions, and it might even be my personal favorite. Like all of Apatow's productions, there are admittedly scenes that arguably go a little too far or a little too long, but that's a small criticism when the film successfully fires on so many other cylinders.

To start with, the film is hilarious, and I think the comedy far exceeds the standalone bits shown in the trailer. Scene after scene is filled with humorous and often sidesplitting moments, and they had the theater in an uproar during the screening. I can't say enough about Kristen Wiig. Prior to this, I've always liked her to some extent but never really loved her. I think she's good at what she does, but I wasn't sure her shtick could sustain an entire film. Would her passive aggressive wit get old? Is it the only note she can play? Can she handle anything more dramatic? Ultimately, she blew me away in this film. Not only is she consistently and uniquely funny, but her character is surprisingly well-developed, and Wiig brings the character to vibrant and dynamic life on-screen.

And this brings me to my next point about Bridesmaids: the film has a surprising amount of depth that completely caught me off guard. Bridesmaids isn't a quickie 80-minute gag fest by any stretch of the imagination; it's actually a leisurely paced 2-hour character-driven comedy that takes time to develop its characters and establish the various relationships and resultant conflicts between them. Ultimately, the film ends up being quite heartfelt and even rather sad in places. Despite the over-the-top antics shown in the trailer, the themes that the film explores are actually quite grounded. Kristen Wiig's character is someone who is feeling completely let down by life, which is a place we've all been, and the personal journey of her character resonated strongly for me. While her character is easily the most well-developed of the bunch, even the other bridesmaids ultimately show some three-dimensionality as well, despite the fact that they are sometimes initially introduced as two-dimensional caricatures.

Ultimately, Bridesmaids was one of the most enjoyable comedies I've seen in a long time. It's certainly not perfect: it could probably do with some editing, there might be a few too many subplots (some of which are left unexplored), and it arguably goes too over-the-top at times, but everything else about the film works so well that these complaints are little more than nitpicks. While I applaud everyone involved in the production, it is Kristen Wiig who deserves the most accolades. As co-writer and lead actress, she plays a huge part in the film's success, and I sincerely hope this film puts her on the Hollywood map, as I would love to see more from her in the future. Whatever the case may be, Bridesmaids certainly makes for a successful maiden voyage for her into the world of feature-film comedies.

I haven't finished watching bridesmaids for the first time I just saw the moment when Melissa McCarthy character says she never bloats. That It's a gift.

She is so adorable while saying this! I watched this moment several times. She really is a very talented actress! Love her!

So far it is very entertaining movie except one or two uncomfortable script moments. Wedding speech scene was hilarious. So was tennis game. Girly competition. Kristen Wiig and Rose Byrne are both great. Sometimes it gets sad like cupcake scene but it is funny at the same time.

I'm going back to watching the rest of the movie. There was one scene with Chris O'Dowd. Can't wait to see more of him. Another talented actor. Love him as well.

This flick is silly, funny, bitchy, and just great. We meet Annie (Kristen Wiig) a bridesmaid, whose best friend is getting married. Annie has lost her business and is alone and loveless. She is also getting pushed out of her bestie relationship by the NEW broad, the NEW bridesmaid, who is gorgeous, rich, and generous. How dare she? Then Annie loses her apartment and has to move back in with mommy (Jill Clayburgh). This is a hilarious chick flick of high caliber. The women are funny, clever and outrageous. The fashions are just silly enough and the writing and acting carry it off smoothly. There isn't a miss in the bunch but Melissa McCarthy stole plenty of the show.

There are many prickly relationship comedies, many wedding related comedies, many gross-out comedies, many my-life-is-a-mess comedies and many comedies that shoe-horn in a romance.

This has all those familiar elements but it works really well. It is well-paced despite the long run time, with a good mix of the various elements that keeps the entertainment and comedy value strong. Importantly the characters and relationships seem believable which makes the comedy parts so much more effective when they happen.

Kristen Wiig plays the lead character and co-wrote (taking care to include romantic associations with two really attractive guys). Wiig is really funny and effective in the role. I also really enjoyed the performances of Rose Byrne and Chris O'Dowd. Melissa McCarthy is good and her bit on the plane was really funny.

Kristen Wiig is one of the rarities from Saturday Night Live that was able to be great on the show and make the transition to films successfully. Bridesmaids was one of the best examples of this. It is more than just the use of a character, or trope, in a feature film. It is the use of a powerfully gifted comedian in a smart, funny role. It is the female counterpart to the male driven Hangover. Wiig is beautifully supported, and enhanced, by Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper, and SNL's Maya Rudolph. Melissa McCarthy is shocking and funny in this one. She has some of the film's funniest scenes. Judd Apatow did a terrific job making a film driven by an all female cast that is not just for women. Jon Hamm has a small, buy very funny role in this one.