“From the few times I saw the trailers for Bridesmaids, I was pretty sure that I wasn’t interested. It looked way too damn girly for me. But then, it began to build buzz as more and more people saw it, which got me curious. I discussed it with a friend who knows my taste in movies pretty well, and he said that the trailer did seem girly, but it wasn’t very representative of the film. The trailer was clearly a publicity ploy to bring in a certain audience, and that I should give it a try. Sold.
I am glad that I saw it. I didnt find it particularly amazing, but I do think that it’s the type of film that Hollywood needed. It wasn’t the girl-ness of the film that made me not care for it. I didnt have a problem with that. I just didnt find it particularly funny (mostly because it didnt have the golden comedic dialogue I crave), and it seemed to drag after a bit.
The other point against it is that there were a lot of little things that made me identify strongly with Kristin Wiig’s character, and it scared the \m/ outta me. Seriously, I was a bit uncomfortable seeing someone like me in some ways hitting bottom and spiraling out of control. Even once I saw where the line was that separated me from her, I still couldnt get past that feeling in my gut. Its just weird.
Anyways, taking a step back, why does Hollywood need this film? As a result of this movie, there’s been a lot of discussion about women in film, especially in comedy. They all come to the same conclusion, which is that you dont see much of women in comedy. Except for a few character roles here and there, the most us chicks get is silly rom-coms, and we all know those are shit. Here’s a movie that had fuller, non-idealistic characters, and a plot that was focused on more than just getting a guy. The boys have so many bromance and other comedic type of films, it’s a nice change to see one for the girls. Dont get me wrong, I absolutely \m/ LOVE boy comedy. I still prefer it to girl comedy, but then again, I’m the girl who always hangs with the boys, dropping f bombs and laughing at fart jokes. But knowing there’s a more feminine movie that I wouldnt be embarassed to be seen at is a good thing.
Kristin Wiig really anchored the film with a very strong performance that was both comedic and dramatic. I’ve never cared too much for her, but I thought she was fabulous in this film. What I realized is that, like Will Ferrell, I can only take her off-the-wall characters in small doses. But in this case, when she played a very real character, I loved her. The other thing that was great was her BFF chemistry with Maya Rudolph. Watching that early scene of them shooting the shit in the diner, it made me think of hanging with my BFF (yeah he’s a boy, but he’s a bigger girl than I am). I also felt like that was a pair of girls that I could stand to spend some time with, without wanting to stick my fork into my eyeball.
Another thing that impressed me was the way that Melissa McCarthy’s character, Megan, was used. Sure, for the most part, she was the equivalent of Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover. She could have gone only as far as that, and would have still been amazing. But instead, she was used to drive one of the biggest emotional turning points for our heroine, which I felt was a brilliant choice.
Overall, while I may not have found this to be the best movie ever, I would again like to state for the record that I am very happy to see it out there. And I would very much like to see more films like it.
Bridesmaids – \m/ \m/ \m/