Bridesmaids released in 2011. (Photo: Universal Pictures) There can be (and are) multiple women in comedy, who do stand-up, act well, and write funny scripts. Movies can be (and are) made about women friendships without resorting to dumb and easy cliches. Films that make you make laugh out so loudly that you end up making a snorting noise towards the end, trying to pass the whole episode as a mere cough. I remember watching Bridesmaids (2011) the first time a little under a decade ago. I did not think it belonged to that aforementioned category of smart, hilarious, women-driven films, penned by women. I thought it tried too hard, and halfway through the movie, I did not even care about the ending because it was so predictable.
However, 8-9 years later, a lot of my opinions about the Paul Feig directorial has changed. All those jokes that felt slightly ludicrous, a little too out there, sat easy this time around. Sometimes a re-watch can have the opposite effect. Usually, what you once loved as a young college student you eventually grow out of as you age, but some material slip down your system more easily years later. Bridesmaids was certainly that film. The entire movie-watching experience was filled with laughter and sheer joy, and the scenes where I was not laughing (which were not many, to be honest), I was emotionally invested.
Writers Kritsen Wiig and Annie Mumolo (who both star in the movie as titular characters), have written a fun, moving film about women, their relationships and their insecurities with such openness and honesty. It was a candid ride peppered with a generous dose of toilet humour, a stunning turn from Wiig and the ladies, rounded of with an endearing performance from Irish actor-comedian Chris O’Dowd.
The plot revolves around Maya Rudolph’s character Lillian who is to have her big wedding. She wants her best friend Annie (Wiig) as her bride of honour. Annie, though happy for her friend, is a little broken about the issue because she fears losing her buddy, her old life (which already had so many missing parts). However, she does her best to prep for the big day and make her pal happy. What Annie doesn’t know is that there is another woman in Lillian’s life who has gotten close to her, and she wants to one-up Annie in front of Lillian. What follows next is a chaotic, delicious mess of goof-ups, rants and some R-rated humour. (SPOILER) It all ended well. Perhaps the conclusion was the only cliche that the makers ended up sticking to, the rest of the feature seemed like a breath of fresh air as far as comedies featuring a band of women are concerned.
Apart from the cast, which was a solid one, what helped Bridesmaids’ case was that the captain of the ship also knew a thing or two about comedy (and that is putting it lightly). Paul Feig is himself a comedian, actor and director who has dabbled in the genre for a long while now. Consequently, the end result was as near-perfect as you can get when making a self-deprecating, hilarious, ridiculous movie about a bunch of women in their 30s and 40s.
You can watch Bridesmaids on Amazon Prime Video.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
