Bridesmaids (Feig, 2011)

Recently there has been a great buzz over the film Bridesmaids (Feig, 2011). The film has received generally good reviews and the word of mouth has been very good. So with dread in my heart I decided that if it was as good as I'd been hearing I needed to go see it. Having heard that it was outrageously funny and that I wouldn't stop laughing, the dread of seeing a chick flick was assuaged by seeing a true comedy film which is quite rare in today's cinematic landscape.
As the first half of the film unfolded I wanted to kick myself for allowing my usual sense of a films quality be subjugated by word of mouth. The narrative was flat and predictable and the bits of comedy that were in the film were seemingly few and far between. Those bits of comedy were also subject to that special brand of humor that Apatow Productions have inured modern audiences with, that of human fallibility, degradation and a soundtrack of fart noises. Which is to say, it might be funny the first film, but after we have seen it time and again please change it up.
But then I realized something quite special as the protagonist of the film was slowly being sunk into her own personal quagmire. This film has heart and while it does rely on the Apatow brand of humor, the performances by all of the actors are quite remarkable. They are fresh and from the heart, given with honesty. And most importantly, the films narrative starts to make social commentary, raising it to a higher level. By the end of the film I realized I had just seen something that was rather well done.
The films narrative plays out slowly, not cramming action down the audiences throat. The various story lines are allowed to unfold at their own pace although at times this pace could be quickened. There are some extraneous moments and there are times when certain bits are just not funny. The narrative also allows itself to become rather predictable with it's finish and the bringing together of Annie (Kristen Wiig) and Nathan (Chris O'Dowd) goes vastly under explained. But it is in the end a romantic comedy and thus needs to be formulaic in approach.
What isn't standard or formulaic is the performances. Let me start with the role of Annie. Wiig plays this part with heart and charm, bringing the audience into her life and allowing us to sympathize with her and feel her degradation at each juncture. Who hasn't experienced the despair of losing a job or realizing a friend or friends has moved on in their life, seemingly leaving you behind? The role resonates in how much her performance reflects on woman of today. She is the overwhelmed frustrated modern woman, trying to be independent but at the same time being frustrated by societal demands and expectations. Forced to work at a job she hates, demeaned at every turn by the only guy she seemingly aspires to be with AND having to watch her best friend move on? Kristen Wiig co-wrote this film and I applaud her for the way in which she wrote the film and brought such an accurate portrayal to the screen. And with her performance being so good she also raises the level of those around her.
The other actors also bring good work. Rose Byrne brings a dual level of snobbishness and frailty to the role of Helen that allows you to hate her and pull for her at the same time. Equally, the role of Ted (Jon Hamm) leaves nothing but utter despite. The truly sad thing about his portrayal is the accuracy. Unfortunately there are more than likely many men just like Ted. Finally the performance of Melissa McCarthy in the role of Megan. Here is an actress that gives a 110% with seemingly total disregard for what anyone thinks. All I can say is growing up in the McCarthy household had to be utterly insane between Melissa and Jenny. Each of these roles speaks greatly about what it is they represent in our society.
Finally, the true strength of the film lies in how it reflects our society and how we are dealing with (or more accurately failing to deal with) personal responsibility, accountability and the role commercialism has brought to our society. Annie doesn't begin her journey back up until she realizes her lack of responsible action has led to everything going wrong. When she stops blaming everyone else and starts focusing on herself this is when her character begins to grow. The same can be said for the picture perfect Helen. Only when she opens up to Annie and allows honesty to come out do we see a Helen that we like and can relate to. Our society has become one in which blame must be shifted and personal accountability only is taken when it benefits us. This film masterfully shows that we have allowed ourselves to be deluded in allowing such traits to become prevalent.
I truly applaud Kristen Wiig for being such a force in bringing this film to the screen and I hope she is given more chances to do such in the future.