TheFilmCritique
02-06-12, 08:20 PM
“A Shocking failure attempt to copy The Hangover. Not quotable, overhyped, slow and overall, not very funny.”
Trying desperately to be a female version of the highly quotable movie, “The Hangover,” (first one only) “Bridesmaids” received all this hype and it didn’t live up to it. I’ll admit that I never thought I would see a raunchy woman’s comedy, but I guess with the success of “The Hangover”, it was only a matter of time. This movie isn’t even that raunchy, there is one sex scene (involving the sleazy John Hamm) and only a few other scenes that were more gross than funny.
While “The Hangover” shows how men bond in situations of peril,(losing the groom during a bachelor party in Vegas), “Bridesmaids” shows women attacking each other over things as stupid as a Paris themed engagement party and fighting over who is the better friend of the bride. The hangover guys were putting their heads together trying to fix a situation, while the women were only creating a situation. I don’t understand why so many women like this movie; it is filled with insecurity, bad parenting, jealousy and overall “bitchiness”. These are things that many women deny that they do in real life, yet so many of them idolize this film. While “The Hangover” makes men look like utter buffoons who drink, gamble, cheat, marry strippers and kidnap people and be overall “dogs,” these are essentially characteristics that women classify men as anyway. Bridesmaids shows immense amounts of outer/inner insecurity, cheating and (in the case of Annie) shame, hopelessness and depression. I would rather see guys being funny idiots and tool around Vegas in a Mercedes with a tiger in the back, rather than women attacking large cookie decorations.
“Bridesmaids”, although have similar judicial run-ins, never had any real conflict with the law. For a film copying “The Hangover”, being in jail is some of the funniest parts. The movie has some really funny scenes but then goes back to blah again. In the hangover, we were immediately thrown into some very funny situations (the opening scene for example) but in bridesmaids, I waited 20 minutes before something memorably funny happened. For a film that tried to take on “The hangover”, it didn’t necessarily crash and burn, but it was so far from the quality of humor.
The funniest character to me, although not our main character Annie (Kristen Wiig), was the culturally out-of-place British twins who, at the age of 30, still bathe with each. The most memorable bridesmaid was the overly masculine Megan (Melissa McCarthy), who I assumed was a lesbian but in the end, I guess she isn’t. Similar to the randomness of personality we see in “The Hangover”, “Bridesmaids” shares a similar assortment; our lead Annie, who recently lost her bakery business, is a woman of extreme depression and a poor relationship track record. Lillian (Maya Rudolph), the bride, who struggles between having a simple wedding and some epic, must choose between having Annie as her maid of honor or Helen. Helen, the desperate needy snob, wants Lillian to have an expensive look-at-me wedding and chooses materials over love and would rather have been married for looks instead of love. Megan (already mentioned above) is the quirky and goofy sister of the groom. Becca (Ellie Kemper) plays the naive, innocent and typical wait-till-marriage girl. The last bridesmaid is Rita (Wendy McClendon-Cloven) who is an unhappy and sex-deprived mother who, similar to Annie, hates her life.
Not only does Bridesmaids attempt to imitate “The Hangover” in the styles of comedy, but both show older people acting like young, irresponsible people. “Bridesmaids,” on the other hand, has a very ‘blah’ quality to it. The soundtrack-free film has a shoddy love story between Annie and the local (yet foreign) police officer Nathan Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd). The main problem and difference between this movie and “The Hangover” is the pacing. It has too much talking and not enough action.
Directed by Paul Feig (“I Am David”) and produced by John Apatow (“Knocked Up,” “40-Year Old Virgin,” “Pineapple Express”), much of the movie shows how people change as a result of major life events. In the case of “Knocked Up,” it was having a baby; in “Bridesmaids” getting married. The bride, Lillian, started out as a simple woman who wanted a simple marriage, but as the wedding got to her head – she pictured some Cinderella style story book wedding. It eventually turns into a marriage for looks rather than for love.
The film has some really funny characters but the transitions are terrible. It starts out slow, but halfway through it all of a sudden gets rushed. It lacks balance. Having some humor but not staying funny for very long, it does have good intentions; showing some heartfelt qualities and illustrating the principle of giving someone a second chance.
Trying desperately to be a female version of the highly quotable movie, “The Hangover,” (first one only) “Bridesmaids” received all this hype and it didn’t live up to it. I’ll admit that I never thought I would see a raunchy woman’s comedy, but I guess with the success of “The Hangover”, it was only a matter of time. This movie isn’t even that raunchy, there is one sex scene (involving the sleazy John Hamm) and only a few other scenes that were more gross than funny.
While “The Hangover” shows how men bond in situations of peril,(losing the groom during a bachelor party in Vegas), “Bridesmaids” shows women attacking each other over things as stupid as a Paris themed engagement party and fighting over who is the better friend of the bride. The hangover guys were putting their heads together trying to fix a situation, while the women were only creating a situation. I don’t understand why so many women like this movie; it is filled with insecurity, bad parenting, jealousy and overall “bitchiness”. These are things that many women deny that they do in real life, yet so many of them idolize this film. While “The Hangover” makes men look like utter buffoons who drink, gamble, cheat, marry strippers and kidnap people and be overall “dogs,” these are essentially characteristics that women classify men as anyway. Bridesmaids shows immense amounts of outer/inner insecurity, cheating and (in the case of Annie) shame, hopelessness and depression. I would rather see guys being funny idiots and tool around Vegas in a Mercedes with a tiger in the back, rather than women attacking large cookie decorations.
“Bridesmaids”, although have similar judicial run-ins, never had any real conflict with the law. For a film copying “The Hangover”, being in jail is some of the funniest parts. The movie has some really funny scenes but then goes back to blah again. In the hangover, we were immediately thrown into some very funny situations (the opening scene for example) but in bridesmaids, I waited 20 minutes before something memorably funny happened. For a film that tried to take on “The hangover”, it didn’t necessarily crash and burn, but it was so far from the quality of humor.
The funniest character to me, although not our main character Annie (Kristen Wiig), was the culturally out-of-place British twins who, at the age of 30, still bathe with each. The most memorable bridesmaid was the overly masculine Megan (Melissa McCarthy), who I assumed was a lesbian but in the end, I guess she isn’t. Similar to the randomness of personality we see in “The Hangover”, “Bridesmaids” shares a similar assortment; our lead Annie, who recently lost her bakery business, is a woman of extreme depression and a poor relationship track record. Lillian (Maya Rudolph), the bride, who struggles between having a simple wedding and some epic, must choose between having Annie as her maid of honor or Helen. Helen, the desperate needy snob, wants Lillian to have an expensive look-at-me wedding and chooses materials over love and would rather have been married for looks instead of love. Megan (already mentioned above) is the quirky and goofy sister of the groom. Becca (Ellie Kemper) plays the naive, innocent and typical wait-till-marriage girl. The last bridesmaid is Rita (Wendy McClendon-Cloven) who is an unhappy and sex-deprived mother who, similar to Annie, hates her life.
Not only does Bridesmaids attempt to imitate “The Hangover” in the styles of comedy, but both show older people acting like young, irresponsible people. “Bridesmaids,” on the other hand, has a very ‘blah’ quality to it. The soundtrack-free film has a shoddy love story between Annie and the local (yet foreign) police officer Nathan Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd). The main problem and difference between this movie and “The Hangover” is the pacing. It has too much talking and not enough action.
Directed by Paul Feig (“I Am David”) and produced by John Apatow (“Knocked Up,” “40-Year Old Virgin,” “Pineapple Express”), much of the movie shows how people change as a result of major life events. In the case of “Knocked Up,” it was having a baby; in “Bridesmaids” getting married. The bride, Lillian, started out as a simple woman who wanted a simple marriage, but as the wedding got to her head – she pictured some Cinderella style story book wedding. It eventually turns into a marriage for looks rather than for love.
The film has some really funny characters but the transitions are terrible. It starts out slow, but halfway through it all of a sudden gets rushed. It lacks balance. Having some humor but not staying funny for very long, it does have good intentions; showing some heartfelt qualities and illustrating the principle of giving someone a second chance.