Surprisingly, Bridesmaids is getting extraordinary reviews out of the South by Southwest Film Festival. Perhaps it’s because the first trailer was so terrible that expectations weren’t hard to top. Perhaps it’s because pretty much everything that plays at the genre festival seems to get glowing reviews as critics sit in the presence of the folks that made the film as a raucous group of drunk and delirious filmgoers take in film after film. Either way, the buzz is massive, but it seems most critics are only praising one thing…
Gabe Toro at The Playlist compares Kristen Wiig’s performance to Lesley Manville’s in Mike Leigh’s Another Year and Jim Carrey’s in Liar, Liar while calling the film itself “hilarious” and “heartfelt” in the headline to his rather garrulous review.
Dustin Rowles at Pajiba opens his review saying, “Of all the Judd Apatow-inspired bromances that have been released since Knocked Up, none have been as good as Bridesmaids.” He continues by calling it a “filthy fucking comedy that combines the better elements of bromance and old-school Farrelly Brothers with honest-to-goodness heart. For everyone who liked The Hangover but thought it was missing something, Bridesmaids demonstrates exactly what its predecessor lacked: Awesome, hilarious women who can hilariously talk about their feelings in one scene and shit in a sink in the next.” Oddly enough, I think he’s being quite literal in that last bit, which is something I am not at all interested in seeing.
Mike Sampson at JoBlo continues the Wiig lovefest writing, “With Bridesmaids, her first leading role, Wiig not only shines but delivers a star-making performance that will put her at the top of the list of comedic actors in Hollywood, male of female.” As someone that believes Wiig has become something of a parody of herself this is something I’ll have to see for myself.
Jordan Hoffman at UGO loved it as well calling it “filthy, sweet and hilarious” and saying it “is poised to be a massive breakout for Kristin Wiig.” Another comment that makes me wonder if Wiig has truly been able to drop the same tired shtick and play something of a well-rounded woman.
The only review that doesn’t slobber all over Bridesmaids that I found after a quick Google search was Chris Tilly’s at IGN who says that “for every comedic hit in the film, there also seems to be a miss, with jokes misfiring on a regular basis and gags going on far too long. One particular sequence – in which the girls board a plane headed for Vegas – seems to last forever and builds to a whimper rather than a bang.” He continues adding, “But the real problem with the film is a lack of development or story arc for the bulk of the characters. Bridesmaids features a large ensemble, but Wiig feels like the only character we ever really get to know, making it hard to care about anyone else.” Hmmm, perhaps this is why the focus of the other reviewers seems to have been so one-sided.
Bridesmaids will come to us lay-folk not in attendance at SXSW on May 13, but a new trailer has just arrived for you to preview. Have a look below and tell me if this female version of The Hangover is something you are now interested in seeing or if the rather unanimous disinterest after the first trailer still exists.
