Bridesmaids, this summer’s sleeper hit (and welcome respite to the tired and hollow escapades of Carrie Bradshaw and her Haute Couture cronies) comes to DVD and Blu-ray, having simultaneously held its own against the other big-hitters from the season, while helping to launch the careers of a number of small-screen comedic talents.
Starring and co-written by ex-Saturday Night Live member Kristen Wiig (in a breakout performance), she plays Annie, a single gal in her mid-thirties who is struggling with life. Financially she’s suffering (her dream business has gone bust, swallowing up any savings she had) and on the relationship front, her only sexual outlet is a series of cold, no-strings-attached rendezvous with a heartless cad named Ted (a loose and very funny Jon Hamm).
A ray of sunshine comes in the form of childhood best friend Lillian, who announces she is engaged and would love Annie to be her maid of honour. Annie’s plans to give her BBF a bachelorette party she won’t forget prove to be tougher than she envisioned when she runs into competition from Helen (Rose Byrne), the wife of Lillian’s fiancé’s boss and all-round do-gooder, whose own luxurious celebratory schemes differ greatly from Annie’s budget-restricting plans.
Thus begins a series of disastrous get-togethers with the trio and the rest of the bridesmaids (including Melissa McCarthy’s Zach Galafiankis-esque turn as future sister-in-law Megan) where friendships are tested and violent bowel movements are inadvertently triggered.
Co-producer Judd Apatow has once again assembled some serious talent together (it’s his biggest-grossing production yet), and with old collaborator Paul (Freaks and Geeks) Feig at the helm, they’ve fashioned a very funny, sometimes moving tribute to sisterhood which doesn’t skimp on the gross-out quota either (the aforementioned dress fittings session which rapidly descends into a shower of body fluid messiness is just as funny and disturbing on second viewing). The ensemble cast all manage to bring something to the table too, but it’s the fantastic Wiig’s show, and she proves to be a real comedic tour de force, particularly during an ill-fated flight to Las Vegas the ladies embark upon. Her scenes here truly establish her as a major talent, and she’s something of a snarky, coarser version of Diane Keaton.
It’s also nice to see a couple of faces from the land of UK TV in amongst the American cast. Matt Lucas has a small role as Annie’s overbearing flatmate but it’s The IT Crowd’s Chris O’Dowd who is the export that really shines. His winning and extremely likable turn as a sympathetic cop and potential suitor for Annie is a welcome addition to a largely female cast, and he looks completely relaxed and at ease as the romantic interest.
While Bridesmaids hardly rewrites the rules of the genre (it tends to stick pretty close to that tried-and-tested comedic formula) and suffers from the apparent insistence from Apatow that all his films need to run for over two hours, there’s much to like here. The film will undoubtedly find that similar-sized audience who trekked in droves to see it on the big screen and (for the most part), it’s fully deserving of that success.
[Rating:4/5]
Extras
There is the option here (seemingly commonplace for all US mainstream comedy films of the last few years) to access an ‘Unrated Version’ of the film alongside the theatrical one.
Feature commentary with director Paul Feig, co-writer Annie Mumolo, and the bridesmaids from the film, minus Rose Byrne (Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper).
Also included is a gag reel, ‘Line-O-Rama’ (verbal gags from the film all played together), three deleted scenes (one involves none other than Paul Rudd as one of Annie’s blind dates), extended and alternate scene, and a horrid in-film commercial for Cholodecki’s (the jewellery store Wiig’s character works at).
