Tag Archives: Wendi McLendon-Covey

Bridesmaids (2011)

23 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in Comedy, Movies

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I brought the toilet paper this time...

R

Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Jon Hamm

Annie:  Let’s change the subject.  No more baking…I’m done.
Nathan:  I don’t know how you just can’t do it anymore.  If I wasn’t a cop anymore…I would still go out…with a gun…and shoot people.

Annie’s (Wiig) best friend, Lillian (Rudolph), is getting married and asks Annie to be her Maid of Honor.  Unfortunately for Annie, she’s got some competition for the job from one of Lillian’s newer friends, Helen (Byrne).

A little tamer than I was expecting after some of the press it got, but certainly better than average as far as comedies go.

Not that there aren’t some over the top scenes, particularly the dress shop food poisoning scene, which is easily the funniest in the movie.  That’s the big laugh, but Wiig and Rudolph supply several other giggles, chuckles, and smirks along the way in the more subtle moments, many of which probably involved some improv.

That brings me to one of my few gripes with the movie.  The improv scenes sometimes went on a little too long.  That seems to be the case with most Apatow (he produced this one) related movies.  They end up being overlong because so much material was filmed and left in.  It’s hard to sustain comedy for a solid hour and a half, so at over 2 hours, you’ve got to expect some lulls in this one.

Overall, though, it is funny and it maintained my interest.  Kristen Wiig is a likable performer, as is Maya Rudolph, and if you read my last review of X-Men: First Class, you’ll know of my love for Rose Byrne.  While I prefer to see her in more sympathetic roles, it’s still her, and she’s clearly having fun playing something out of the norm.

Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Melissa McCarthy’s shameless performance.  She isn’t afraid to look and sound terrible throughout, and that resulted in many of the bigger laughs.  So bravo to her.  If you only know her as Sookie from Gilmore Girls, get ready for quite a change in character type.

A little bit more editing could have made this one pretty great.  As is, it’s still an enjoyable time with some funny women.

Never give up a career in baking.

10 – 1.3 for being a bit overlong – 1.7 for some parts just not being all that funny to me = 7.0