Bridesmaids: Smart Comedy That Won't Just Appeal To Women

This is a story about two lifelong best friends Annie (Wiig) and Lillian (Rudolph) whose lives are diverging wildly. Annie is broke, miserable and single while Lillian is happily engaged. Lillian chooses Annie to be her maid of honour, which is fine until she meets Helen (Byrne), a bridesmaid who is everything that Annie isn't. She's rich, married and glamorous; and she seems to have her whole life under control.

Calling this a straight comedy is kind of misleading. Bridesmaids is wickedly funny but at its heart it's about how Annie hits rock bottom then proceeds to pick herself up again. You'll laugh a lot, but you'll also cry, cringe and occasionally scream at the characters. It's about a woman that hates herself so much and who is completely lacking in self-esteem to the point that she puts up with a man who has no respect for her and routinely kicks her out of bed. 

The only person that Annie can rely on is her best friend Lillian and that relationship becomes increasingly strained during the wedding planning due to a class clash in the form of that certain bridesmaid called Helen. These crazies provide the kind of laughs that shake up your entire body especially when they're flying to Vegas and Annie gets high on pills and liquor. This also happens to be the best use of a Britney Spears song in a movie ever. In fact, the whole soundtrack is pretty awesome and includes everyone from Fiona Apple to Hole to Blondie.

The refreshing thing about this film is that it almost completely focuses on the women. For a change, it's the men that are defined by their relationships with the women instead of the other way round. This doesn't mean that all the women are three dimensional characters, though; in fact quite a few are walking stereotypes. The two men in Annie's life are basically used as shorthand for her relationship with herself. When she's at her most self-loathing, she hooks up with Ted (Hamm), and when she feels better about herself, she hangs out with Rhodes (O'Dowd). 

This isn't like most wedding-centric chick flicks that showcase demented bridezillas. Lillian's wedding isn't the reason behind Annie, Lillian and Helen's problems, but it is the catalyst.The film doesn't deal with their problems simplistically, and this allows the viewer to see the women as something more than shallow stereotypes.

Rudolph's Lillian is absolutely brilliant. She's torn between two worlds; the solidly working class one that she grew up in and the upper class world that she's marrying into. She shows just how difficult it can be to navigate both without losing your friends and, more importantly, losing yourself. Wiig's Annie is hilarious, desperate and completely messed up. You find yourself alternately wanting to cuddle her then yell at her, which makes the part where one of her friends finally slaps some sense into her hugely cathartic. While both Wiig and Rudolph are known for their comedic talents, they fully establish themselves here as nuanced actresses; and watching their friendship fall apart on screen is rather heartbreaking.

Bridesmaids is a smart comedy for adults. It's as touching as it is funny, and will appeal to both male and female audiences. It's right up there with the best of the comedy hits that we've seen in the last few years.

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Staff Writer for Cairo 360 

Original article on:Cairo360