First of all, I know what all (8) of you are thinking...you sure did take a hiatus from the NY resolution, Amanda. And now that you're back, you're not even reviewing one of the 83 movies on your list. Shut up. I'll get to those later. This one is just more fun to write about, ok? OK!
Bridesmaids. I saw it last Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. at a FREE screening at the
Angelika in Dallas. This is wrong for several reasons. My
profession gives me the privlege of staying up late every night and sleeping in just a bit. So getting up, having enough coffee in my system, and looking presentable enough for the general public, as opposed to someone who might have just finished a college dorm walk of shame, is all a big feet for me. But, I love comedy (given), Kristen Wiig, Judd Apatow, and of course, FREE.
Annie (
Kristin Wiig) and Lillian (
Maya Rudolph) are childhood best friends. Maya is getting married and has, of course, asked her childhood best friend to be her maid of honor. However Maya has a new adult best friend, Helen (
Rose Byrne) who is richer, classier, prettier, and clearly has her life together. The struggle comes when Annie tries to perform her required bridesmaids duties (i.e. the shower, the bachelorette party, etc.) while paired up with the rest of Lillian's chosen hodgepodge of bridesmaids. Annie is also struggling personally. She's a retired bakery owner who has to eventually move in with her mother (
Jill Clayburgh)!!! and her love life is well, almost lifeless. She's continually strung along by her booty call Ted (
Jon Hamm) and a sweet, Irish cop, Nathan (
Chris O'Dowd), who first repremands her for a blown out tail light, then encourages her to start baking again. Life couldn't get much worse for Annie until Lillian relieves her of her maid of honor duties. The battle between friends (Lillian and Annie) and enemies (Annie and Helen) and the excitement, stress, and ridiculousness that comes from being a bridesmaid and/or a bride are finally brought to life in this film. There's this cult-like craziness that surrounds the "most special day in a young woman's life" in this country. Not everyone experiences it, but for those of us who have either been a bride or a bridesmaid or both, this movie couldn't be more true. Well maybe a little ridiculous at some points. But this is, after all, a movie, not a documentary.
Bridesmaids is chock (what a fun word!) full of reality and but also chock (yay!) full of absurd,
Judd Apatow style humor. (An Apatow refresher for you weirdos who don't watch good movies:
Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pineapple Express, 40 Year Old Virgin,
Knocked-UP,
Superbad....you get it, right?) Annie and Lillian are totally believable, loveable, characters from the beginning (something improvisers know how to do well). You can't help but love them and relate to them and feel sorry for them, all in the same. Kristin Wiig and Maya Rudolph were, obviously, hilarious. The chemistry between Kristin Wiig and Maya Rudolph is something I haven't seen in awhile. It was great. It felt like I was watching to friends bull shit when they thought no one was watching (a lot like a great improv scene). I often hear students or improvisers at the
club say they aren't a fan of Kristin Wiig, claiming they "don't like her characters." To that I say, "What characters do you bring to the table? And can you commit like she does?" Hardly. I have always been a huge Kristin Wiig fan from the first time she graced SNL with her presence, and I'm now only more impressed with her after seeing the end product of some badass writing. It was also refreshing to see the always hilarious Maya Rudolph in a big movie role. Jon Hamm is on my top 5 laminated list, so this might be why I actually went to see a film before noon on a weekday. The sleeper award goes to Melissa McCarthy (Molly from Mike & Molly and Sookie from Gilmore Girls). She plays Megan, Lillian's soon to be sister-in-law, who is not your typical bridesmaid. I've always been a Sookie fan, but was inspired by her comedic performance as Megan. There aren't many actors who can play such an absurd role with such a straight face (I'm slow clapping you right now, Melissa).
Improvisers make better writers and actors. Period. Okay, I'm biased. I know. But I wouldn't be opinionated without an opinion right? Any talent agent out there will tell their talent to "
go take an improv class" so you can start booking jobs. While that may be true, an improv class doesn't make you an improviser. With the little bit of research I devoted to this entry, it looks like there are at least seven (there could be many more) trained improvisers in this film (Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Ellie Kemper, Wendi-McClendon Covey, Melissa McCarthy...this list goes on) who execute these scenes so much better than some of the "actory actors" out there. I'd love to get my hands on a copy of this script to see what scenes were actually written and how many of these scenes just had beats that were improvised.
If you've ever been a bridesmaid, or you know anyone who has and have heard them bitch about all the parties you have to attend, the money you have to spend, the
"I picked out something you can wear again if you just cut if off at the knee" bridesmaid dress you wear once then donate to Goodwill, then this movie is for you. Or, if you just like to laugh and girls being dumb and real and gross and funny, this this movie is also for you. Or, if you have a girlfriend or wife and you owe her a "ladies choice" movie night, then this one is for you, except, you'll actually like it, too. Or, if Wilson Phillips "Hold On For One More Day" brings back any middle/high school nostalgia with you and your best friend, this is the movie for you.
