MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

Bridesmaids   Rated R

Directed by Paul Feig.  Starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph

Photo © Universal Pictures
Movie Review by Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

I thought a while before deciding to review Bridesmaids.  My primary hesitation was due to its often crude and sexually frank humor.  In fact, I would guess that most viewers will decide during the first two minutes whether or not they are willing to watch the next two hours.  I have seen a few older people walk out of this film.
  
It’s a generational thing, to be sure; the constant frankness and puerile content of primetime television has lowered the standards of propriety, and swearing is everyday practice in the halls of public school and universities.

Every summer brings its share of wacky and crude comedies, but most of them involve men who refuse to grow up, hanging out with their buddies and (if they are married) ignoring their spouses.  There are many “bromances” scheduled for this summer.

And then there’s Bridesmaids.  This film desires to do nothing more than entertain with a series of comic set pieces featuring the talents of gifted comedic actresses.  Lillian (Rudolph) is getting married and invites Annie (Wiig), her best friend since childhood, to be her maid of honor.  The only problem is that Annie is incredibly insecure and when she sees that Lillian’s fiancé’s boss’ wife Helen (Rose Byrne) is developing a close friendship with Lillian, her competitive nature comes to the forefront in uncomfortable and potentially disastrous ways.

The film hearkens back to the sketch comedy days of writers Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo and simply moves from one scene to the next with stock footage of Milwaukee, highways, and generic rock songs used to bridge the individual bits.  Some of the shorter segments simply don’t work, but the longer, sustained pieces reach comedic heights, mostly due to the incredible energy and physical humor of Kristen Wiig, one of the mainstays of television’s Saturday Night Live.
 
I am not convinced that our culture values marriage very much these days, but the wedding movie has become a genre unto itself, since it is an excuse to get families and diverse characters together for a short period of time.  But what is most interesting about Bridesmaids is that it values the friendship of the two main characters over the marriage of wife and husband.  (The groom has no speaking lines in this movie.) And the relationship of the in-laws is on the sidelines, as well.  Frankly, I am not sure any marriage could withstand being treated in such a subordinate fashion.

Well, when the divorce eventually comes, get ready for Bridesmaids 2.

Pitchfork/Halo Ratings:

Three halos: In spite of its raunchiness and moments of crudity, this is essentially a positive film about female friendship; it’s also genuinely funny.

Four pitchforks: Swearing, a comical sex scene, promiscuity, crude behavior, scatological humor, drug use, selfishness, and thwarting of airport security.

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