Bridesmaids

It is disparaging to hear that people are as shocked by "Bridesmaids" as they are. A truly funny comedy with women, which out-grosses and outshines any other male dominated funny this year? Is it really so hard to believe?  Almost inevitably, others have lazily dubbed it, 'the female "Hangover"'. Well this is not the case, because plain and simple "Bridesmaids" is a very funny film, regardless of any comparison to any others in breaking new ground. There is no novelty to be found here; women are funny and any men going into this surprised that Kristen Wiig could make them laugh harder than anything else in multiplexes this year, really needs to get out more. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are both successful graduates of SNL, working in two of the highest rated shows on TV. Sarah Silverman might have her detractors, but that hasn't stopped her going on to becoming one of the most thriving female comediennes in recent memory. Jessica Stevenson (née, Hynes), wrote and starred in "Spaced" with Simon Pegg well before Hollywood came knocking on their doors. Joan Rivers is still delivering sardonic quips on stage and television after all of these years. If this is still under discussion after "Bridesmaids", then ignorance has completely given over to sexism. Surprise, surprise, these women are funny. Have been for years. Will continue to be. Not to say that there aren't unfunny women in comedy out there, but this pertains to there being plenty of men who also share that unfunny bone in their body. And with this film, they get the best platform in years to prove that point. Kristen Wiig has for some time now, become a quality answer to that guy who suggests that women might lack any mirth or merriment. Week after week, she completely outshines her male co-stars on SNL, being the only consistant member in the whole cast. She is a natural and gifted performer; completely giving herself over to any role, whether it be at the expense of vanity or class. That is perhaps her biggest asset; that in disregarding all these things in her search for the 'realness' in characters, she always manages to retain a sense of humanity and dignity in her comedy, even when she may look and act anything but. That the film is the success it is, is down to her.

The balance that the film so finely straddles, is in finding the truth in even it's most outrageous moments. It carries it's fair share of disgraceful and foul mouthed humour, but it's gags would not work as well were it not for it's cast. Kristin Wiig is Annie, recently chosen by her BFF Lillian (Maya Rudolph) to be her Maid Of Honour. Unfortunately for Annie, this brings back up a swirl of passive resentment and panic that her own life, is not going as neatly or as well as it should. Along the way she has to contend with the gang of Bridesmaids and Rose Byrne's Helen, who vies with Annie for Lillians attention and approval every step of the way. With her subtle undermining of Annie, along with work, money and man woes, she begins to crack under the pressure of organising the run up to her best friends big day. Annie's reaction of trying to be happy for that special someone's achievements, when you are so very far away from them in your own life, is a searingly relatable position. Sure maybe women might inherently get it's neuroses that bit more but this should not deter men from their own enjoyment of the film. Anyone can laugh at the scatalogical gross out of that dress fitting scene no matter what your sex, especially when delivered as well as it is. Although Wiig herself co-wrote the script, she is a very giving actor, letting each of the Bridesmaids to get at least one chance to shine. In fact it is only truly in one scene that she let's herself radiate as her airplane trip from hell translates into comedy gold for us in quite possibly the funniest scene in the film. As far as the cast goes, it is Melissa McCarthy as Megan who gets the breakout here, gaining the lions share of laughs. Chris O'Dowd shows why he is making waves across the Atlantic in a confidant and charming display of his talents. Although serving only as Wiig's potential love interest, he nontheless makes the most in every scene he is in. Sure some of the maids don't register as deeply as others but the film just couldn't reasonably fit them all in, and any more would certainly outstay it's already generous 2 hour running time. But they are cast impeccably and add to the films considerable charms.

The film has been already proclaimed as the break out comedy hit of the Summer - there is usually one that the distributers bet their money on to clean up at the box office despite it's moderate budget. While there have been plenty of comedies this year that have tried and failed to make us laugh, it seems that "Bridesmaids" is the first one to truly stand out from the crowd. The film mixes deft and engaging humour, with a sweet emotional undercurrent to the madcap shenanigans. There is no trick to the films success; it is simply a perfect marriage of script and cast. Director Paul Feig, himself a graduate of TV's "The Office", "Arrested Development" and "Mad Men" handles events more than competently. In fact I'm sure on set the issue of whether or not these girls were funny was never raised; rather that they are too funny. Judging by the comfortable improvisational skills they all had, along with most being friends prior to filming, means that there must have been a heavy abundance of great stuff that just couldn't be wedged in, left on the cutting room floor. It doesn't matter whether you be boy or girl, you will find this film funny. Sure, those without X Chromosomes may wince that slight bit more at the antics on screen, but only in the same way guys may feel that only they truly get a film like "The Hangover". A good film is a good film and that fact of whether you are male or female is irrelevant to having a great time experiencing it.

Verdict: 8/10
The funniest comedy so far this year, deftly mixes off the wall, sidesplitting chunks of humour, with a genuine and none too mawkish sentiment. Although the notoriously prickly Academy tends to ignore comedy, the consideration for Kristin Wiig for Best Actress begins here. She really is that good. Of course, this is something we always knew.

"Bridesmaids" Trailer