Bridemaids
It is said, that the woman who is appointed maid of honour at her best friend’s wedding must organise everything, to make the bride really feel special before her special day. Sadly, Annie (Kristen Wiig) has enough life troubles, without the pressure of such a title on her shoulders. She’s recently single, and her cake shop is out-of-business; that’s just a few of her problems. Then, her best friend Lillian announces her engagement, and she is a little perturbed when Lillian’s new friend, Helen (Rose Byrne) seems intent on stealing the role of honour from her.
This sounds like your typical run-of-the-mill romantic-comedy film but, believe me, it isn’t. In a strange way, it is almost a coming-of-age film, because Annie has to finally grow up and face her demons, and along the way, she does make an awful lot of bad decisions (with hilarious consequences). This film will make you smile, and in some cases absolutely roar with laughter. There are also a few English people in this very American film, with Matt Lucas as one of Annie’s (very odd) roommates, and Chris O’Dowd (The Boat That Rocked, The IT Crowd) who plays a policeman who has a thing for Annie’s cakes. And, no, that is definitely not a euphemism…although he kinda likes her too.
However, there are times when the film becomes more like a series of short sketches, which means it loses some of the seriousness that is needed to make the plot plausible, which is a shame. But then, you have to remember that the producer behind it is the same person who produced a comedy about an accidental pregnancy. Thankfully, there is only one gross-out moment in Bridesmaids and yes, it is quite cringe-worthy, but it’s funny at the same time.
I applaud the actors and actresses for keeping a straight face, even with the most ridiculous dialogue. I don’t mean ridiculous in a bad way, but there is a particular scene between Lillian and Annie when, in a jealous fit of rage, Annie trashes the bridal party, and they somehow end up screaming at each other about a rather intimate beauty treatment that Lillian has had. There is no hint of a smile there, unless you’re watching the blooper reel,
Saying that, the other special features on the DVD include two different versions of the film (the Theatrical and an Unrated version), which explained why there were a lot of scenes I remembered from watching it at the cinema, but weren’t in the version I watched on DVD. Also, there are some deleted scenes, and some alternative scenes, and a rather interesting feature, called ‘Line-O-Rama’ where you can watch some one-liners from some of the best characters that didn’t necessarily get put in the final film.
Rating: 4/5
Review by Rebecca Jackaman