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When producer Judd Apatow attaches his name to a project, you pretty much know what to expect: raunchy comedy, some drawn-out gags, and a bloated runtime. You probably expect some gross-out humor, lots of sex, and a strangely sweet ending. What you might not expect, however, is an outrageous comedy that’s targeted toward women. And that makes Apatow’s latest project, Bridesmaids, a pretty tough sell—because it’s too girly for most raunchy comedy-loving guys, and it’s too outrageous for most romcom-loving girls.
Kristen Wiig is Annie, a down-and-out baker from Milwaukee who seems to fail at everything from business to relationships. The only thing that’s kept her from a complete nervous breakdown is her life-long best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), who’s always there with words of support and a shoulder to cry on.
When Lillian announces her engagement, Annie decides to be the best maid of honor that her best friend could ever ask for. But then she meets Helen (Rose Byrne). Rich, beautiful, and obnoxiously perfect in every way, Helen is the queen bee of the bridal party—and she seems determined to tear Annie and Lillian apart.
It may be called Bridesmaids, but this isn’t a fluffy chick flick following the adorably madcap adventures of a fun-loving bridal party. Actually, there’s nothing particularly adorable or fluffy about this wedding-planning comedy. In fact, it’s more The Hangover than My Best Friend’s Wedding—with as much swearing, sex, booze, vomit, and poop in odd places as you’d find in any raunchy guy movie.
To its credit, though, there is an actual story—a little like Mean Girls meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding—instead of just a series of outrageous scenes strung together. There’s even a welcome touch of romance (but just a touch), courtesy of Chris O’Dowd, who plays the lovable Officer Rhodes. There are lots of cute puppies, too—perhaps in hopes that seeing a bunch of fluffy puppies might somehow cancel out the audience’s mental image of a bunch of women projectile vomiting.
The cast, meanwhile, gives it their all. Wiig and Rudolph have such an easy-going chemistry that you’ll have no problem believing that their characters have been friends since childhood—and Byrne is so good at being bad that you’ll cringe every time she appears on-screen.
After a while, though, it simply wears out its welcome. Some of the jokes drag on until they’re just not funny anymore (like a painfully long scene involving Annie and Helen competing for the best toast at Lillian’s engagement party), and the characters are often more irritating than outrageously eccentric.
Bridesmaids does have some moments of comedic brilliance—especially one scene, in which Annie completely loses it at one of the numerous frou-frou events. But the overabundance of awkward outrageous comedy and the unnecessarily lengthy runtime make it pretty tough to sit through. And if you’re looking for a cute chick flick to watch with the girls, you’ll definitely be in for a big (and probably not so pleasant) surprise.
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