BRIDESMAIDS (2011)

Always an Arthur, never a Bridesmaids.

Well it's about damn time a good comedy came along. The last comedy I saw that even came close to how funny Bridesmaids is was Tangled, and that was seven months ago. Perhaps it's too much to ask for a really good comedy to come along more than twice a year, but thankfully Bridesmaids leads the way for what looks to be a promising summer for comedies.

Kristen Wiig stars as Annie, a mid-30's woman who's more or less devastated when her friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) gets engaged. The only thing Annie has to look forward to is that Lillian has asked her to be her Maid of Honour. On a budget and up against super-wedding-planner Helen (Rose Byrne), Annie realizes she may have bitten off more than she can chew.

No sooner does Annie mistakenly give all the bridesmaids food poisoning does her other ideas get pushed aside for Helen's better (and more expensive) ideas. It's a battle for Annie who has known Lillian since they were kids, but apparently losing your friend to a snobby whore is all a part of growing up -as is cute-meeting your way into the arms of a geeky lovable cop with an accent (Chris O' Dowd).

Now, Bridesmaids is more than likely going to be referred to as the women's Hangover - that's more or less true. While I thought The Hangover was pretty funny and have grown to like it more over time - I actually enjoyed Bridesmaids more. Much like The Hangover it even has an Office alumni as part of the cast (Ellie Kemper). I don't know if it was the toilet humour or projectile vomiting that put me over the edge, or if Kristen Wiig (in her first leading role) carried the movie like a champ and made Bridesmaids what it was. Wiig, by the way, is also responsible for writing this film so the fact the part was literally tailor-made for her is yet another reason I believe it worked on almost every level.

I am giving Bridesmaids an open door. While it would do just fine to list all the funny parts of this film (that thankfully didn't all appear in the trailer), it doesn't matter. The whole film is funny and works on several levels (funny, touching, inspiring, etc) and is an easy front-runner for best comedy of the year. I guess we'll have to wait and see as on May 26th The Hangover Part II shows up in theatres. Until then...

*Stills courtesy of Universal Pictures