Bridesmaids Starring Kristin Wiig

Written by Jonathan Jacobs

Bridesmaids is an agonizingly slow film. Kristin Wiig co-wrote the script portraying a unique group of bachelorette party hangers-on. When "Sex and the City" on HBO officially concluded, women felt a vacuum in their lives. Fortunately, at least for male audiences, a brand new show (now ironically in its final season) strictly devoted to men came along as its de facto replacement. The character Vincent Chase replaced Carrie Bradshaw, while Johnny Drama took over for Kim Catrall, and the comparisons, however inexact, are endlessly debatable. Similarly, Kristin Wiig's Bridesmaids offers an intimate look into the lives of women struggling to maintain their friendships, relationships, and careers while juggling the challenges brought on by everyday living. It is simultaneously hilarious and excruciating to watch, and that is a concoction welcome for any date night.

Annie (Wiig) is ensnared in web of disappointing developments. Her former life's ambition had been dashed to the wall when her investment in the bakery "Cake Baby" lost its value. After declaring bankruptcy, local graffiti artists replaced the store's lettering so as to have the placard read: "Cock Baby". How apropos for Bridesmaids. Annie's current career as a jewelry saleswoman is floundering because her attitude descends into gloomy places. Even worse, when the camera initially rolled, Annie was busy being jackhammered by the president of the douche bag lowlife of the month club, Kevin (Greg Tuculescu). Kevin maintains a roster of "fuckbuddies" and Annie just so happens to be on the list. She is never allowed to sleep over, invite him to social functions, or discuss personal issues, yet somehow she comes back for more. Sometimes women become stuck in a rut and cannot break the cycle of bad decisions.

Annie's best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married and has chosen her to be the maid of honor. Lillian is fun loving and they are childhood friends. While this should have been exciting and endearing news in the middle of so many personal traumas, Annie encounters Lillian's newest friend Helen (Rose Byrne). Helen is filthy rich, more jealous than a cuckold, and is as cunning as Professor Moriarty (oh read a book for goodness sakes!). Her goal is to interrupt the friendship between Annie and Lillian and to intercept the best friend status. She employs every method at her disposal including choosing an expensive bride's maid apparel, relocating the bachelorette party to Las Vegas, and stealing Annie's ideas before she can introduce them herself. Helen is a jealous uber-bitch with a vicious mean streak.

While Kristin Wiig is the bona fide star of the show, the bridesmaids make for a formidable comedic posse. Megan (Melissa McCarthy) shows us the softer side of womanhood. Only when appropriate, she belches, releases random bursts of flatulence, and unleashes a mountain of diarrhea in a dress store sink. On the bright side, she is more man than I am! Becca (Ellie Kemper from "The Office") plays a wife sorely in need of some loving. This prompts an extemporaneous fit of lesbianism, and who can blame her? Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey) is a provocateur and a heinously obnoxious mother, yup, that's modern comedy. There are sundry other characters, but none so interesting as the aforedescribed bridesmaids.

Ostensibly, the only bright spot in Annie's life is her burgeoning relationship with the kindly state trooper Nathan Rhodes (Chris O'Dowd). Nathan adores her from their first interaction and their time together is adorable and charming. Somehow, due to the infliction of doubt and suspicious brought on by her player ex-boyfriend, she is unable to recognize or cope with a good relationship. She is in full self-sabotage mode.

Bridesmaids is a two hour and five minute movie that feels five hours long. It is exhausting. Aside from the sense that it takes forever to watch, the film is not without its incredible moments. Bridesmaids is as imbalanced a movie as I have ever viewed. Variegation is not uncommon for a Judd Apatow production, but it can be frustrating for viewers. When the comedy is as random as the drama, is as random as the painstaking moments, many people will turn away. I laud Kristin Wiig for A. showing more of her rock hard body in genuinely revealing positions than ever before, B. writing such an involved script, and C. being the most unheralded comedian of her epoch. Overall Bridesmaids deserves a B-, though at times it reaches an A+, right before it sinks to a new all time low to an F.