Bachelorette

***It's too bad that this movie came out in the same year as "Bridesmaids." That coincidence contributes to shallow thinkers erroneously setting these two films against each other. Both share a basic scenario: a bridal party in the days before a wedding. Aside from that, they are completely different movies.

Pick two "Civil War" films. "Gone with the Wind" and "Gettysburg." There's room in the world for both.

"Bridesmaids" was a hilarious film.***

So now... THIS movie, called "Bachelorette."

This is a dark, edgy, uncomfortable comedy. The characters are realistically flawed. They do ugly things and treat each other badly. They also obviously care for each other and make some astute observations about life. There are too many weirdly, subversively funny moments to list.

If you watch it expecting a light, breezy "chick flick" you will be disappointed. If you watch it expecting a gritty, grimly hilarious portrait of three very human women trying to overcome their own flaws and self-inflicted disasters, you'll have a damn good time.

Notes: 1) Kirsten Dunst is awesome playing a tightly-wound, abrasive control freak. I love the hard edge she has here. And the way her face betrays the fact she's always on the verge of coming apart at the seams.

2) Lizzy Caplan. FINALLY in a movie and role worthy of her comedic talents.

3) Rebel Wilson. Naturally hilarious. Too bad her role necessitates under-utilizing her gifts.

4) James Marsden. I've only ever seen him in good-guy roles (at which he is excellent). It's a confirmation of his skill that he's equally great at playing a sleazeball manipulator.

5) June Diane Raphael. The uniquely nutty, endlessly comical Raphael's cameo in the bathroom with Lizzy Caplan is easily the funniest scene in the movie.

I feel like a lot of people are giving this movie flack because they're comparing it to Bridesmaids. That's the problem with movie-goers. We call each movie, the next or the imitation or worst than or better than. On it's own, Bachelorette did really well. It's a dark comedy/ raunchy film but it's done so well. It's not common in Hollywood that you have movies where women are complex as the men. Some reviews state that they find the characters to not be redeeming, but I think that's what makes Bachelorette so strong. We have 3 complex, intriguing, and yeah, messed up individuals. What it gives you is a very plausible comedy. A review online called this the mix between Mean Girls + Bridesmaids. Aside from the similar wedding scenario, this is more the women version of the Hangover and fused with Mean Girls. Check it out, it's a good laugh ride if you're into dark comedies.

Following weakly on the heels of Bridesmaids is this other bridesmaids movie. It kind of sucks for the writer/director Leslye Headland, in that it's based on the play she wrote several years ago (and she likely already had the movie deal before Bridesmaids appeared). Even if it was beaten to the punch, though, it's not very good. The film follows three high school friends (Kiresten Dunst, Lizzy Kaplan and Isla Fisher) who gather back home for the wedding of another friend (Rebel Wilson). All three of the bridesmaids have pretty cruddy lives, and they're upset that their less attractive, fatter friend is getting married before them. The night before the wedding, on a coke binge, the three tear Wilson's wedding dress and then have to scramble to repair it. The thing that will put most viewers off of this film is that the three leads are just awful, petty people. Many of the supporting characters (notably James Marsden and Adam Scott) are even more despicable. You have to wonder how these people are friends with the bride and groom in the first place. I did think, after a while, they characterised the three women enough that we at least understood why they were so screwed up. There are a handful of funny moments. Any small bit of goodwill it had built, though, was jettisoned by its ultra-lame rush-to-the-wedding finale, and then a particularly painful and miscalculated post-wedding toast where Adam Scott tries to hook back up with Caplan, who was his high school girlfriend. The film's really just not worth sitting through.

To be honest, I watched this film as my testosterones were firing on full once they heard the cast included Kirsten Dunst and Isla Fisher, not only are these two beautiful women but powerful and talented actresses. Then the cast just got stronger with Rebel Wilson, James Marsden, and Adam Scott all of which I've seen in better movies.

Bachelorette goes to show that you can still have a bad film with a great cast. Unfortunately, it;s the story and the implausible characters, which I found annoying and quite unbelievable. I am also tired of film-makers and writers trying to show drug addiction in a brighter light than it really is. I know addicts and none are like Isla Fisher's and Lizzy Caplan's characters. I find this to also be degrading to family and friends who know people suffering drug addiction. These people would not keep watching this film. There was no reason for this to even be in the movie, it just seemed like a "Quick Fix" to add some immature comedic moments. The writers and director should've taken a more responsible approach. With a little bit of work and creative writing, they would've had a stronger story and film.

So it sounds like I'm coming down on the movie and that I didn't like it, well if it hadn't been for Kirsten Dunst and Rebel Wilson I would've turned this off quite early. Because of them, I stayed to the end, and even though I suffered feeling embarrassed for the actors at the start of the movie, I wasn't too upset at the end of the film, where everything works out okay in the end.

This film suffers from weak writing and mediocre direction and could've been so much better. There are some good giggle moments, but nothing in the laugh-out-loud. If Immature humour is your thing then you may like this.

This movie is funny once you get it. There is a big dip in quality the middle of the film (cliches and ridiculous scenarios) and it gets below average, but the writing upkicks again and it end well.

The overall trouble with this film is the characters and friendships are not established very well. As a result, it takes a while for the viewer to believe the premise of the movie (ie: why are three popular girls going to the unpopular girl's wedding as her bridesmaids?). The aspect that I struggled to understand the most, is that the director/writers do not make clear WHY the women remain friends. Yes, we know they went to High School together, obviously, but WHY have they remained in contact? Considering that two of the women now live in New York, and two now live in LA, and the three main characters barely disguise their contempt for Rebel Wilson/ the Bride... so why are they in the Bridal Party again?

This movie clearly wasn't marketed well - it is not Bridesmaids, and it is not a rom- com. The poster is awful. What is that composition, honestly?! In the end, if you go into this movie knowing it is a DARK COMEDY WITH UNLIKEABLE CHARACTERS, you'll probably enjoy it. Once I figured out the characters are assholes and are MEANT to be assholes, then it was pretty funny in parts. Not all women are "nice" and "sweet" and "kind". And they don't have to be.