Bridesmaids

Directed by Paul Feig. Written by Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo. Starring Kristen Wiig (Annie), Maya Rudolph (Lillian), Melissa McCarthy (Megan).

Bottom line: Between laughing and exhaling heavily out of one’s nose, Bridesmaids made me do the latter; it has its moments it wasn’t consistent enough to quench my thirst for comedy though it does have some interesting commentary about marriage.

2/4

I had heard great things about Bridesmaids. After all, it was nominated for best supporting actress and best original screenplay. I expected it to be something of a female based Hangover (which I found surprisingly funny). I tried not to get my hopes up but I did and what I found was a disappointing movie that made me want to watch something else (later re-watched Meet the Parents). I don’t think my hopes were too high though.

The movie opens with a comedic sex scene with Annie Walker (Wiig) and her friend (read: attractive jerk that doesn’t want more than sex). It’s funny to see his enthusiasm compared to her obvious dissatisfaction. It isn’t a new joke but it got a chuckle out of me.

The next morning, after the guy tells her to leave, she meets with her best friend, Lillian (Rudolph). “Why are you seeing him…at all…ever,” the friend asks. “I shouldn’t but he is so cute,” Annie replies. She is at that stage where she wants to feel bad about herself and, shortly thereafter, we learn about why. She opened a bakery with her previous boyfriend. It failed, he left, she lost all of her money and now she works at a jewelry store. She has given up on men and baking. Her friend Lillian is with a guy who has been “kinda distant recently”. A couple days go by and Lillian tells us that she is engaged to that guy; he felt distant because he was nervous.

Marriage isn’t painted as the most positive institution so, perhaps, we are supposed to feel a little awkward by the sudden engagement. Lillian’s tone about the guy was such that I thought it was more of a fling than a long term relationship. As we meet more of Lillian’s friends, we see how they are put in rather depressing positions. Rita (McLendon-Covey) “can’t watch the Daily Show without being entered,” while Becca’s (Kemper) love life is passionless. So often it’s the case we hear men complaining that marriage means the end of sex. It is refreshing to hear a woman’s perspective on marriage. By the end of the movie, I didn’t know how to feel about Lillian's over-the-top wedding. Maybe the laser show is mocking the place marriage has in our society today. Is it a perfect wedding when you have puppies as partying gifts or when you have a giant cookie cake that no one will eat? Bridesmaids positions marriage such that women are forced into it for security and validation. None of the women, for example, (aside from the single Megan) are professionals so they need financial support. Society also puts pressure on them; Annie is treated like a loser because she is in her thirties and unmarried. Now, in terms of comedy, I was unsatisfied by Bridesmaids and I feel like it was in part because I had trouble connecting with Annie.

To put it plainly, I didn’t like her. She is whiny and all of her problems were her own doing and felt that she lacked the determination to get herself out of her circumstances. Consider Bridget Jones’ Diary as a point of comparison. Bridget is a single, thirty-two year old woman who struggles with work and relationships. One of the reasons I like Bridget, as a character, is that she has a consistent underlying strength. In the beginning of the movie she says, “I suddenly realized that, unless something changed soon, I was going to live a life where my major relationship was with a bottle of wine...and that I would die fat and alone and be found three weeks later half-eaten by a pack of wild dogs.” She realizes that something is wrong and decides to change it somehow. Annie, oppositely, complains about how her business failed and blames it on the recession but doesn't try to do something else. She is a talented baker but does she use her talent? No, she screams and yells and ruins situations. She submits to her position at the crumby jewelers all the while displacing her frustration on her customers. One reason that may explain why Bridget Jones is more successful is that we hear her thoughts. Unlike with Annie, we are in a privileged position which helps explain how Bridget functions.

The jokes in Bridget Jones’ Diary are positive despite have a rather depressing subject matter (because they are often about how alone Bridget is) while, in Bridesmaids, everything is so bitter. Don’t get me wrong, bitter cynicism can be a lot of fun but not if I can’t relate. How can I commiserate if I am not brought into their position too? The high points of the movie come with Megan (McCarthy). She is strong and funny and speaks plainly. She doesn’t get involved with any of the conflicts in the movie so it seems like she is a character who is disconnected from the movie. She can speak along with the audience. I felt more in touch with her than anyone else.

Overall, I was not satisfied by Bridesmaids. It has its moments but so do many movies. I liked the commentary about modern day marriage but the unsuccessful comedy makes this movie passable. Had I seen this when it was in theaters, I wouldn’t have recommended it. At this point, however, it is out on Blu-Ray but, just the same, you can do better.