Saturday Night Live alum Kristen Wiig co-writes and stars as Annie, the unhappy childhood best friend of Lillian who’s getting married.
Annie — of course — is to be the maid of honor. Lillian is marrying money. Big money.
-- Local show times, theaters, trailer.
Annie loves her friend but has a twinge of jealousy at Lillian’s good fortune. Her world is rocking, and Annie’s is a failure. Her dream bakery business went broke. At best she’s second-best in relationships, can’t keep a job and suffers the ignominy of having to live with her mom.
Conflict comes from expensive pre-wedding celebrations and from Lillian’s new friend, the thunder-stealing and perpetual party-organizing Helen. Also packed into the multi-dimensional plot is a decent love story.
Wiig is a big talent who had us wondering for a long time if she’d every find a breakout role. Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy number among the supporting cast. Rudolph is fabulous, but the show-stealer is McCarthy. She delivers the film’s funniest lines.
As terrific as Wiig is in front of the camera, it’s her writing that wins here. This is a fabulous comedy that really isn’t just a chick flick. So guys, ignore the title. You will find it entertaining and maybe even funny. And relatable. Well, as relatable as a flick about a work-up to a wedding gets.
Bridesmaids is also a gear switch for producer Judd Apatow. A quick check of his resume show his productions — Knocked Up, Superbad and Pineapple Express and others — as pretty much guy focused.
A film about women and marriage may be virgin territory for Apatow but the results are the same. The film is flat-out funny and is worth saying “I do.”
Mr. Movie rating: 4 stars
Rated R for mature themes, language. It opens Friday, May 13th at the Carmike 12 and the Fairchild Cinemas 12.
5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen
4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it's your type of movie.
3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on video.
2 stars to 1 star: Don't bother.
0 stars: Speaks for itself.
