Bridesmaids

Old friends reunite in 1989 for a high school friend's wedding in their hometown. Secrets do come out, hijinks, clever comebacks and great Motown music for the backdrop.

The great outfits worn by Sela Ward are fantastic and very 80's.

It's worth a walk down memory lane.

I landed on this movie accidently, and since I'm very fond of Sela Ward, I've decided to give it a chance. What a mistake.

The idea is much like in any typical "girls" movie - "little women", "now and then", even "the first wives club". As always, the best friends meet after 20 years, after each went in her separate way - the dull house-wife, the successful and wit, the one whose husband is cheating on her and the one who desperately wants kids. And of course, secrets from the past will rise, shake their relation-ship, but it will all end well. (There's no spoiler here - if you expected anything else you must be very naive). So - Same old stuff, nothing is new, can't think of anything borrowed, but the sky is blue.

No, this TV movie may not be particularly original, but remember, it came before many of the movies that it can be compared to. Maybe in 1989 when it was released, it was more original. Even if it wasn't...

It has humor, heart, fine performances by likable actresses. What's not to like? Personally, I love this movie. I just watched it tonight, and not for the first time. I'll record it onto video until someone releases it onto DVD. There may be corniness, but this is a harmless, endearing depiction of friendship that I completely enjoy watching.

I love Shelley Hack as the political, intelligent Kimberly and Sela Ward as the independent, sexy business woman Carol. Brooke Adams as Pat and Stephanie Faracy as Beth fill out the cast well as the unhappy housewife and the naive one with a big secret. No, maybe the problems these women have have been seen before...but almost twenty years after this movie has been made, women still have these problems, so...clichés are clichés for a reason.

However, this movie is carried by the chemistry these four women have and they have it in abundance.

Not to be confused with the blockbuster 2011 Kristen Wiig comedy, this television movie came out 22 years prior and has absolutely no connection other than the titular bridesmaids at the center of the story. Not to be crass, but this is basically nothing more than a feature-length version of a feminine hygiene product commercial. Female friends laughing, crying, fighting, making up and talking about sex, men and womanhood. It will most certainly appeal to the STEEL MAGNOLIAS crowd, which incidentally came out the same year. And although I can't recommend it, it's actually better than it deserves to be based solely on the likeability and chemistry of the four leads. They are able to convince us that they are life-long friends, and they are enormously appealing, even during the embarrassing moments. In the end, it basically amounts to nothing more than a series of upbeat period songs interrupted by moments of story. It even includes the requisite cringe-worthy scene where the gals join forces and sing MY GUY. If you're a fan of any of these actresses, it's worth a look. Just don't expect much.

Not only is this movie like an all-female version of The Big Chill, but this is the movie The Big Chill aspired to be but couldn't quite become! It's clear that this movie was made in light of the success of ensemble movies like Chill and St. Elmo's Fire that were big hits in the 80s, but this movie dares to break the pattern and be about something more than questions like "What happens when you grow up? Do our perspectives change? Do we change? Can our relationships started so many years ago hold up today?"

Don't get me wrong, those questions definitely can make for a great movie (and with Big Chill and St. Elmo's Fire, they did), but when you have a mixed-gender cast, it inevitably becomes more about sex than about the questions that sparked the concept in the first place. Bridesmaids makes a bold move with its four female central characters that have lives outside of their sex lives and aren't necessarily all about looking for men to partner up with. By the movie's end, each of the four women has faced and dealt with an issue that society didn't want them to address and each make the decision to not be the docile "ladies" that their culture expects of them.

The movie even deals with questions pertaining to rape in a way that foreshadowed the MeToo movement by over twenty-five years. Of course, being a product of its time, it fails to completely deal with the situation in a way that is considered appropriate over thirty years later, but at least it deals with the questions of consent and victim-blaming in a way that few 80s movies even tried to do appropriately. Most movies of the 80s looked at the issue of sex strictly through a male-dominated lens, and all-too-conveniently avoided these issues, so this is another aspect that made this film a big milestone for a made-for-TV movie in 1989.

I think it threatens a lot of male viewers to see women on screen that have things on their minds and things to do other than make room for a male partner. That's why a lot of these so-called "chick flicks" fail to connect at the box office-men are hesitant to go to one on a date, thus fewer couples go to see them. But women will love this movie. (The soundtrack is fantastic too! Any fan of 1960s rock and roll will also find much to enjoy).

Don't be fooled by this being an 80's made-for-TV movie, this is the ultimate film on female friendship. It deals with the bond women have in a way that is so seldom seen in movies (cinema, TV or otherwise) because this theme alienates male audiences. This movie is a tale of female friendship, as seen by the women themselves. Is it any wonder that the best movies about girlfriends are made by girls?