“Bridesmaids” (2011)

“Bridesmaids” has been labelled the female equivalent of “The Hangover”.  To an extent the comparison holds up.  Both are mainstream comedies that employ shock bad taste tactics, sexual and scatological jokes that before the Farrelly brothers came along were thought taboo.  “Bridesmaids” starts with lead character Annie (Kristin Wiig, who also had a hand in the script) shagging herself senseless and in another memorable sequence her and her eponymous buddies get a bad case of the runs whilst trying on expensive gowns.

Such crudity may well continue to offend a delicate minority - don’t take your Granny to this one - but it’s grounded in universal experience.  Most of us fuck and all of us shit.  Writing jokes around basic human behaviour, particularly when this behaviour involves issues of social etiquette and shame, is a sure fire way to connect with your audience.  Seeing a big boned woman voiding her bowels into a small ladies hand basin might not be the height of sophisticated wit but it’s a nightmare scenario that we can all identify with. I laughed loud.

Thematically “Bridesmaids” isn’t a million miles away from its male equivalent either.  It’s about friendship, specifically the challenges to long term relationships when one friend enjoys greater material and romantic success than the other.  Like so many lead characters in American comedies Annie is a thirty-something loser, someone who is falling behind her peer group when it comes to the key middle class indicators of success.  Jealous of bride-to-be Lillian’s new rich mate Helen, she becomes increasingly frantic and strung out.

The fact that Annie is a woman instead of a buffoon played by Will Farrell, Steve Carrell or a Wilson brother obviously influences the tone.  However rude or embarrassing she is a rounded and warm character.  Wiig has an easy, credible rapport with Maya Rudolph’s Lillian and there’s also significant chemistry with the love interest (Irishman Chris O’Dowd as the world’s most amiable cop) and the mom (the late Jill Clayburgh, touching in her last role).

While the big wedding ending is a cliche we’ve all seen once too often - especially the cameo by some 1990s musical has-beens - there is a real point of difference when it comes to the pacing of “Bridesmaids”.  The scenes go on just that little bit longer than is conventional, giving the movie a looser, improvisational feel.  At certain moments it feels like a classic.