I was "dragged" (teasing term) to this movie the other day, not expecting much at all from the trailer. So what did I end up thinking? The movie focuses on Annie (Kristin Wiig), a woman whose life is heading down the gutter. But when her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) gets engaged, she gets given the honor of being--well--the maid of honor. She meets up with the other bridesmaids, including Becca (Ellie Kemper), Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey), Megan (Melissa McCarthy), and Helen (Rose Byrne). Unfortunately, while Helen tries to take over the wedding and glory from Annie, Annie's life continues a roller coaster of emotions, as she battles with British roommates (Matt Lucas and Rebel Wilson), her douchebag ex (Jon Hamm), and Officer Rhodes (Chris O'Dowd)--a cop who Annie starts to form a relationship with.Fortunately, the movie was a lot funnier than I expected it to be. The movie has been compared a lot to The Hangover, but it honestly isn't very similar at all. The similarities stop at the fact it's wacky adventures with a group of people, and one of them is goofy and strange. And similar to Zack Galifianakis in The Hangover, I'm not sure Bridesmaids would have been even half as good or funny without Melissa McCarthy. She really made the movie. Her whole part on the airplane was great, as was the scene near the end when she gives Annie a pep talk. Though the movie does take it one step too far in the extra credits scene.
I think the movie's biggest issue, though, is its pacing. Some things were too long. Some weren't long enough. The tone was a bit off, too. I mean, in one scene you could have a character taking a crap in the middle of the road. In a nearby scene, you could have a character discussing hitting rock bottom in life and just being all-around depressed (and not in a funny way). Kristin Wiig's character just went a bit too serious for a movie that has some of the gags it does. I also would have liked to have seen more stuff between Annie and Rhodes--a very sweet part of the movie that could have been built up more around the middle of the movie. Outside of that, there were issues with the length of scenes. Eventually, you're like "OK, we get it already. Move on." The airplane sequence, for example, just kept going on and on, but the jokes were essentially the same. It built to a good payoff, but the middle could have easily been trimmed. And there were quite a few scenes where this issue arose.
Speaking of trimming things, the bridesmaids themselves were only half important. Becca and Rita are completely pointless. They're basically just background characters. Yet some scenes are dedicated to showing their half of what's going on, when they have almost no importance to the overall scene or movie.
I know this review has seemed negative, but I really did enjoy the movie. It was really funny. The best parts dealt with both Melissa McCarthy and Chris O'Dowd (not together, obviously). And Jon Hamm as the douchebag ex-boyfriend is hilarious, too. He has some really funny one-liners. It isn't a perfect movie, but if you're looking for a good laugh, this would be a fun one to check out.
I Am McLovin!
