Do You Take This Woman To Be Your BFF?

As I mentioned in my last blog, I have recently re-watched Bridesmaids and on the second time, I've actually thought my initial rating wasn't doing the film justice. Granted, I only raised it by half a star but that still puts it above quite a few films released this year. But the reason I'm using it as the first film review for my blog is because, besides having quite a bit to say about it, it still leaves me feeling mixed towards it.

First, a plot synopsis. Annie (Kristen Wiig) isn't too happy with her current lot in life. A failed business, a “no strings attached” relationship with a complete asshat (John Hamm) and a job that she doesn't really invest a lot of enthusiasm into, her friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is one of the few factors keeping her sane. When Lillian announces she's getting married, she makes Annie the maid of honour, though she faces fierce competition from the wife of her fiancee’s boss, Helen (Rose Byrne), a well-off woman with connections, who also seems to want to usurp Annie's place as best friend.

I should say right now there may be spoilers. Yeah, I know the idea of spoilers in a romantic comedy sounds stupid but maybe some people don't want every little detail set out for them.

Now, this film is a mixed bag for me. For just about every good point I can come up with, there is a negative too, albeit unrelated to the good at times.

For the good, most of the characters are well-cast. Kristen is a solid lead and I hope this leads to more leading roles in the future. Though at times the character is unsympathetic, Kristen just plays as she's told and does it so well. Likewise, Rose Byrne doesn't come across as too smarmy or bitchy, just being a little uppity and it works. My favourite characters though, are Nathan (Chris O'Dowd) and Megan (Melissa McCarthy), or as I call her, the ensemble darkhorse. In a surprising (and refreshing) turn of events, Nathan gets to be the more serious love interest, something normally seen in most female roles when the lead is a male. Like I said in my last blog, most women get stuck with one-dimensional roles in which they just sit there and shake their heads when the men do or say something stupid. Now, we get the woman being irrational and the man being level-headed. AND he's well written. See how easy that was? So, can we get to women being well written too when the male commands most of the screentime? Though he does get one borderline negative moment, where he kind of pushes Annie to get back to her baking, since he loved her bakery (the aforementioned failed business). Now, it can be interpreted as him just being overly encouraging and supportive but in that scene, he kind of comes across as a little obsessive and pushy. Annie is made uncomfortable and it's what makes her break things off with him, just as they were developing. Luckily, he gets right back to not doing silly things so his character gets restored.

Now, for a negative, as I mentioned above, Annie does sometimes come across as unsympathetic. While all humans have flaws, she suffers from one of the most glaring in films, particularly comedies. The age old “I have something I need to say but rather than break it down honestly and maturely for my friend, I'm going to not say anything, do stupid things and keep it bottled up ready for a big speech that will alter the rest of the second act and need resolution in the third act” schtick. I'm addressing the scene in which she and the rest of the bridesmaids and Lillian are on a plane to Vegas and Annie has become intoxicated since she is afraid of flying and has just taken some sedatives, with alcohol to ease it down. She becomes very rude to the flight staff and borderline physically abusive. Lady, the guy's trying to do his job, stop being rude. You're not helping your case, you're making Helen look better. Hell, when she does give her big speech, it doesn't even really sink in with the audience, probably because she stops to demolish a giant cookie. And I was actually enjoying that at the start.

Back to the good, Megan. It's like the writers sensed the film was lacking quick-fire jokes and just gave Melissa a whole bunch of things to say and she takes them and runs with them. She's extremely likable and a lot of fun to watch. She also gets to be the one to get Annie to stop acting stupid and get her out of her depression in the third act. She's also responsible for one of my favourite parts of the movie: the guests at Lillian's bridal shower receive gifts (puppies among them) and Megan confesses that she took two. Cut to about five minutes later, we see her drive away with six and gives Annie a signal that seems to say “SCORE!” and it's hilarious.

Back to the negative. There are two other bridesmaids, Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and Becca (Ellie Kemper). They play like opposites of the same coin. One is a bitter wife who seems to kind of hate her husband and kids and will take any chance to see men naked/stripping (though without cheating on her husband, at least she won't go that far) and the other is a super-perky young newlywed who never seems to stop smiling. Yes, we get it, they're from two different worlds with opinions on marriage. Wow, never seen THAT before.
Oh but that's not the worst of it. Now, I don't hate Becca (well, I don't “hate” Rita either but she seems to be the one-note female character, which is a pity) but neither character really adds much, besides the contrast. Back to the plane scene, both are sitting next to each other, with Rita “educating” Becca on what marriage will be like. And just before they're all ejected for Annie's antics, the two kiss, like they're about to start making out. And it's at this point, the movie seems to say “Well, you two have served your purpose, time to become background characters now”. So... in a way, you could view that negatively, with an unfortunate implication of “Oh no! Lesbian scene! Quick, hide them!” Might want to make a statement saying that you didn't mean it like that, guys.

Positive again, just a quick one before the last negative: I loved the scene in which Annie's trying to get Nathan's attention (he's a police officer) in the third act, since she and Helen need his help tracking down Lillian on her wedding day. So, she tries all sorts of things in her car, like pretending to drink and drive, playing loud music, pulling a Dukes Of Hazzard style stunt and ducking down to make it look like the car is driver-less (“Hey, who's drivin' that car?” I love that line) and the whole thing is hilarious. Easily my favourite scene.

Now, the last negative: Helen has been antagonistic (mostly) to Annie and she comes off as insensitive. That's not the issue, she's the closest thing this movie has to a villain. No, the problem comes with the reveal that she's lonely and she overcompensates. Her husband doesn't seem to care, she doesn't have many friends and it gets to her.
Now, knowing that, does it really excuse her actions? She could have seen that Annie couldn't keep up with her expensive treats for the rest of the bridal party but doesn't actually stop to think “Gee, maybe I should make things a little more low-key for everybody else?” She can't be that oblivious to everything, her own stepkids treat her with disregard, even outright swearing at her and all she can do is laugh and comment on putting money in the swear jar.
I'm tired of this thing in movies where it seems like characters don't watch movies, since if they had, they'd recognize similar patterns. Do you mean to tell me she's never seen a movie with rich bitches? She may not be an outright bitch but she's not the most likable person in the movie either.

Anyway, despite all the cons, it is a very good movie and I recommend it for at least trying to shake things up a little. Overall, I give it 3.5/5.