Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers...This should come as no surprise, but if you really don't want to know Jack about this before you see it then you should skip this.
Because guess what?
People get married. SURPRISE!
This one has been on my radar since I first saw the trailer a few months ago, and I finally had a date night last night so that we could go see it. While I like going into anticipated movies with high-ish expectations and have it invariably not disappoint- It doesn't hurt that I have a mini-crush on Kristen Wiig and her "brand of comedy". (And I HATE falling back on cliche's. Bleargh. Anyway...)
Nutshell Plot Synopsis:
Plucky single gal Annie (Wiig) gets tapped by her childhood BFF Lillian (Maya Rudolph) to be the maid of honor at her wedding. Competetion for her affection and feelings of self-doubt/worth are added when a new friend (Rose Byrne)seeks to usurp her role. When the bridesmaids are assembled, hijinks ensue.
Hooookay. Were you trying to win points with your girlfriend, Michael? What's up?
Look, it was really, really funny. I've read a lot the (cough) "cheaper" reviews have said things like (From the poster on the wiki page, and I quote) "Chick Flicks don't have to suck!". Really? Reeeeeally? That's, uh, that's really fricking stupid. Why not skip the stupidity and just present the facts of the matter? And the fact is, Kristen Wiig co-wrote a really great film.
Look, we've all seen doofy ensemble pieces when they have a penis slapped on them, and while I think trying to make a comparison to a similar genre piece is natural (ala' "The Hangover", which could easily have been "Bachelor Party: The Next Generation") I think it does a disservice to the movie they've created. A solid, laugh-out-loud and highly recommendable film- Good for a date night, "chick flick", whatever.
I mean, there've been a wealth of gross-out joints, improvised yuck-fests, and "high-brow" meta-wink-at-the-audience every 5 minutes, that have permeated theaters for the last 10 years or so. And I'd like to go on record that you might want to try and go into this with some weird preconception before hand. And then get your ass surprised.
So it's well written. Did you laugh?
Almost from the get-go. From Wiig's initial banter with her cad-tastic booty-call (Jon Hamm), to the introduction of the remaining bridesmaids- all of whom bring a unique stamp to characters that could have easily been played too broadly or stereotypically. Gone are the prat-falls, sassy know-it-alls, the need to age the protaganist 30 years old to learn a lesson, or dumb plot-point of sending out the guy for tampons just to see if they're worthy. And, points for not having a McConaughey in site.
And the most unbelievably hilarious and cringe-worthy scene involving food poisoning, dress-fittings, and pants-pooping.
And some of my favorite scene's are with Wiig and Rudolph just having casual banter over coffee or wine. It felt real. And if you give me an honest scene, I'll go with you for 90-100 minutes. Moreover, (and doubling back to characters who aren't played ridiculously broad) the love interest is given clever dialogue that doesn't make them immediately the obvious "best guy for her" but makes them a decent guy with decent intentions. Does it make her booty call look bad? Yeah, but it's Don Draper. The guy sells the line "Time for a lap nap" like nobodies business.
I'll talk about my favorite character in a minute.
Fine, fine. To what would you speak ill?
Not much, actually. There are a few scenes "sans laughs" that go on a leeeeetle bit too long, so it felt occasionally draggy. And here's where I wanna talk about my favorite bridesmaid of the bunch- Melissa McArthy as "Megan". If you've seen the preview, you know she's the crass one. And as a result, she gets a lion's share of the biggest laughs throughout the movie. (And she fearlessly earns the shit out of them. I don't think there was one scene she was in that I didn't laugh obnoxiously or immediately repeat what she just said out loud b/c I couldn't believe what I had just heard)
Overall they were sporting some impressive cast members: You had "Reno 911's" Wendi McLendon-Lovey as the "sex-starved" housewife, "The Office"s Ellie Kemper as the sweet and prudish bridesmaid...so I guess if I had one beef it's that I wanted more of where they were going. (In their brief pieces of dialogue they had some great bits. And I'm really just happy they stayed away from making their bits into "What hijinks will they get to Vegas?" type-shenanigans. See? It's hard to find something bad about it.)
Oh, I'm also a little tired of the "Say Anthing" ending when the gal gets her guy that you've been rooting for. In a film that felt original a fun, it seemed an awful lot like how "The House Bunny" ended. (Another terrific comedy)
So you recommend?
Yup. I'd even go so far to say that this is a flick that would be fun to have on the DVD shelf. (The true mark of a good comedy is if it holds up to repeat viewings. That and how much can I quote it later, I suppose. But Moda has nixed my saying "Lap Nap" if I'm feeling amorous.)
My biggest hope is that these women continue to raise the bar in all-female ensemble comedies and that people keep going to see them. After the movie, a teary Moda said it best: "Weddings are hard". Ain't that the truth? So is comedy. And this movie played them well. With a dash of Wilson Phillips.
4/5 Stars
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