Bridesmaids

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Director: Paul Feig (Freaks & Geeks)
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi Mclendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd, Matt Lucas, Jill Clayburgh, Rebel Wilson, Michael Hitchcock
Writers: Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

Synopsis: This spring, producer Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Superbad) and director Paul Feig (creator of Freaks and Geeks) invite you to experience Bridesmaids. Kristen Wiig leads the cast as Annie, a maid of honor whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), and a group of colorful bridesmaids (Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) on a wild ride down the road to matrimony. Annie's life is a mess. But when she finds out her lifetime best friend is engaged, she simply must serve as Lillian's maid of honor. Though lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals. With one chance to get it perfect, she'll show Lillian and her bridesmaids just how far you'll go for someone you love.

Trailer: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/bridesmaids/

This was really, really good. Review soon.

[Ravi]

This was really, really good. Review soon.

I didn't care for the trailer but I was willing to give the film the benefit of the doubt because of Apatow and Wiig. I'm glad to hear that its good.

[matt35mm]

I saw this a few weeks ago and liked it quite a bit. It's funny and heartfelt and pretty ballsy at times. (It's better than the trailer, for sure)

Wiig is great. She's never really been given much to do in movies, as far as I've seen. Hopefully this will open up the kinds of roles she gets in the future.

The film as a whole feels refreshing because it's so rare to see a comedy that is entirely focused on the women that isn't also mired in idiocy. This ain't no Kate Hudson romantic comedy.

It's hard to find much to say about it except that it's funny, refreshing, and satisfying. It does its job well. You can sit down, get invested in the story, the characters, laugh a lot, and walk out with a smile.

I hope there's a big audience for it, but you never know. I wonder sometimes if people like their comedies to be stupid, and I'm not totally sure whether or not a lot of guys will want to go to this. It may end up doing modest numbers, but I hope it has some crossover success.

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from my blog:

Short version: the best film I've seen so far this year and one of producer Judd Apatow's best comedies (up there with "Knocked Up" and "Superbad"). It's also funny as shit. Co-written and starring SNL's Kristen Wiig, "Bridesmaids" proves that Wiig is more than just an amazing sketch performer, she's also a talented actress and writer that's interested in creating comedy that comes from someplace real. In the film, Wiig stars as Annie, a thirtysomething woman who's hit a rough patch in her life: her bakery went out of business, her boyfriend left her, she's sleeping with an asshole (portrayed with perfect sleaziness by Jon Hamm) and her best friend since childhood Lillian (the also excellent Maya Rudolph) is about to get married. Annie is the maid of honor and that comes with many planning activities and (as women probably already know) lots of stress. It's during these stressful months that she really starts to come apart.

Starring a terrific (almost all-female) ensemble, the cast also includes an excellently bitchy Rose Byrne, "The Office"s Ellie Kemper, Wendi McLendon-Covey and a completely unhinged Melissa McCarthy. Though the films main focus is Annie, each of the cast members get more than a few chances to shine. The relationship between Annie and Lillian is completely believable, thanks to the real-life familiarity between Wiig and Rudolph and this makes their scenes together feel more real and less like clever movie dialogue. In fact, the best thing that the film does is staying close to the truth. It's hilarious but not at the expense of turning everyone into a caricature. Wiig's character has some real (but relatable) problems and she isn't afraid to go to dark places. At times it's not funny, it's uncomfortable and sad, but that's what makes it great.

Directed by "Freaks & Geeks" creator Paul Feig, who knows about uncomfortable hilarity from episodes he's directed of of "The Office," and "Arrested Development," and produced by the aforementioned Apatow, "Bridesmaids" actually makes you angry at other comedies (particularly those aimed at women) for being so lazy and caricatured that you want to scream "this is how it's done!" Disregard the trailer, it's playing broad to draw a crowd but the film is a lot better and a lot more interesting than it looks. If there is any criticism it's that the film feels a little long, partially due to a few sequences that go on (even as they remain funny) to awkward lengths, and partially due to the fact that the film just doesn't feel like every other comedy you see. It's episodic and there are a few twists that take it out of the type of film you think it's going to be and direct it somewhere more interesting. If there is a better comedy this year, I'll be surprised.

[RegularKarate]

I saw this last night and while I was mildly disappointed because of all the buzz, I thought it was really good.

It's very warm, fun, and funny.  It feels like the Paul Feig movie I've been waiting for.  I'm glad he landed such a well-written screenplay.  I laughed a lot and got caught off guard emotionally without feeling like the emotional aspect was forced.

My only complaint is the shoehorned-in bathroom humor.  It was really out of place and desperate.  I don't know if Wiig thought it would actually be funny or felt forced to put it in to appease the dumb-dumbs.  Either way, the movie recovers from this quite well and I'm hoping for more from this lot.

If there is a better comedy this year, I'll be surprised.

Hopefully Submarine will be really good, but if Wanderlust comes out this year, it'll almost definitely have Bridesmaids beat.

[cinemanarchist]

If there is a better comedy this year, I'll be surprised.

Hopefully Submarine will be really good, but if Wanderlust comes out this year, it'll almost definitely have Bridesmaids beat.

Not if Jennifer Aniston's comedic timing has anything to say about it.

Edit...Oh shit, I didn't even see that Malin Ackerman was in this...two of the least funny women in Hollywood. If anyone can overcome that though, it's David Wain.

[RegularKarate]

I think you're letting some bad career choices cloud your judgement.  Both of those women have been involved with very funny things in very funny ways.

Also, David Wain.

[Mr. Merrill Lehrl]

Would you really go to bat defending Jennifer Aniston's comedic talents as prodigious and undervalued?  Isn't she basically an inferior in every way version of Catherine Keener?

[RegularKarate]

I'm not saying that Aniston is spectacular.  She just CAN be funny when used correctly.

I DO think that Catherine Keener is a better actress, but she doesn't really do this kind of comedy.

I'm also not going to bat defending Aniston as much as the choice.  I think assuming that Wanderlust won't be good because Aniston is in it is kind of narrow-minded.

[diggler]

Not if Jennifer Aniston's comedic timing has anything to say about it.

Edit...Oh shit, I didn't even see that Malin Ackerman was in this...two of the least funny women in Hollywood. If anyone can overcome that though, it's David Wain.

Really? I think Ackerman is funny on Children's Hospital, although it's hard not to be with that ensemble.

[pete]

saw it
it was funny
but it was long
it makes me wanna hang out with fat chicks

[cinemanarchist]

I'm also not going to bat defending Aniston as much as the choice.  I think assuming that Wanderlust won't be good because Aniston is in it is kind of narrow-minded.

I'm not assuming Wanderlust won't be good, only that it's foolish to surmise that it'll be better than Bridesmaids...it very well might be, but it seems far from a sure thing with those two ladies in the cast. Sure Aniston has made terrible film choices, but I've thought plenty of people were hilarious in terrible movies, not her though.

[Reinhold]

it makes me wanna hang out with fat chicks

[polkablues]

Every movie Apatow has directed or produced feels about 10% too long, this movie included.  That said, it was the best comedy of the year.  Jon Hamm should play a total dick in every movie.  Not just every movie that he's already in, but EVERY MOVIE MADE.

[SiliasRuby]

This was a really funny movie. Get bustingly funny. 40 minures were clearly cut from this film (vegas trip anyone?) but it still worked and I sincerely happy that I spend my money on it.