Bridesmaids (2011)

Sally, Mike, Jack, and I laughed long and hard with the rest of the audience at this raunchy story of Annie, a woman on the edge who will be maid of honor at her best friend's wedding. Co-writer/co-producer/star Kristen Wiig has it goin' on with a fully developed character and a script that keeps on giving, co-written by co-producer Annie Mumolo (her feature screenwriting debut, after one episode of In the Motherhood, which I loved). Mumolo has acted a little, and has a cameo in this as a frightened airplane passenger. After I wrote about Wiig in Whip It she was in Date Night, How to Train Your Dragon, and All Good Things, and is fast becoming a big star. The bride Lillian is played by Maya Rudolph (I wrote about her in Away We Go) and the motley crew of bridesmaids is Melissa McCarthy (first came to my attention as Christina Applegate's friend in Samantha Who?, she also stars in the series Mike & Molly, and here's a photo of her in this, looking very different from her usual cuddly self), Rose Byrne (best known for the series Damages, she was also good in Marie Antoinette (2006), 28 Weeks Later (2007), Adam, and Get Him to the Greek), Ellie Kemper (Erin in The Office), and Wendi McLendon-Covey (new to me, she was in the Groundlings comedy troupe and more). McCarthy is outstanding, but they're all great, though I wish Kemper had had more to do. Don Draper, er, Jon Hamm is funny as Annie's sonofabitch f---buddy, and declined to take a credit, perhaps because he doesn't need to. Chris O'Dowd (played Simon, the guy whom January Jones (speaking of Don Draper) (this is a second Mad Men reference, for those keeping score) married in Pirate Radio, and the blind swordsman in Dinner for Schmucks) continues to be adorable as Officer Rhodes, whose Irish accent is never fully explained. That's Franklyn Ajaye (stand-up comedian, writer on Politically Incorrect and In Living Color, more) in the braids as Lillian's dad. Jill Clayburgh (I wrote about her in Love and Other Drugs) plays Annie's mom, someone who helps everyone but her own daughter. Clayburgh died of leukemia in November 2010 at age 66, and she looks pretty frail here. Trivia: the actor playing the guy McCarthy sits next to on the plane is her real-life husband Ben Falcone.

Most every reviewer talks about co-producer Judd Apatow (I wrote about him in Funny People) and compares this to The Hangover, but credit has to go to director Paul Feig (writer on every episode of Freaks and Geeks, director on many episodes of Arrested Development (2004-05), Nurse Jackie (2009-11), The Office (2005-11), and more).

Although the talented composer Michael Andrews (Donnie Darko (2001), Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) (here's a track), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Cyrus, more) did the soundtrack, what you're likely to come away with is the songs, some of which are on the soundtrack (this link has the list and clips from the album and this one has all the songs). Sally had asked if I wanted to see some chick flicks: this and Something Borrowed. Because this was rated in the high 80s on rottentomatoes and the latter at a woeful 15%, plus we decided to bring our dates, Bridesmaids was an easy choice. Jack's favorite scene is Wiig and Byrne squabbling over the microphone. You will have several, I predict.