Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids

Directed by Paul Feig

Typical plot progression, largely unlikable characters, and a raunchy sense of humor not unlike material found in your average teen comedy, Bridesmaids in no way lives up to the hype of being a "great comedy".

Before I proceed to flame this movie, let me first take special note of my particular dislike for Kristen Wiig's character. A repulsive, egotistical, completely self-centered human being, feeling any level of sympathy for this repugnant character becomes a virtual impossibility. In Jason Reitman's Young Adult, Charlize Theron plays a character with similarly uncouth tendencies, but instead of trying to make her the object of your sympathy, you come to view her as the horrible person that she is and instead sympathize with the unfortunate few that make her acquaintance. Here, instead of accepting her as the terrible person that she is, they try to make you feel for her. The results are ineffective.

Melissa McCarthy, on the other hand (who just recently earned as Oscar nomination for her performance), is a definite standout. Playing the atypical "funny fat guy" role (though in this case, obviously not a "guy") that every comedy seems to have, she manages to provide more than just the majority of this film's laughs. In one particular scene near the end of the movie she reveals more than you might have expected, giving her character considerably more depth than originally evident in this otherwise one-dimensional performance.

The particular brand of raunchy humor found in this movie seems to have been the subject of much praise, but I can only ask, "why"? The fact that these characters are women does not make the toilet humor found in this movie any less juvenile, yet critics and audiences all seem to view it as groundbreaking material. This blatant display of sexism is quite bothersome to me. To judge this movie fairly would mean viewing it as what most people refuse to acknowledge it as being -- just another bawdy adult comedy. Praising this movie for the same reasons you would chastise another makes very little sense to me, and being the student of equality that I am, I refuse to follow suit.

Only sporadically funny, due in part to its generally unlikable leads, I find very little about this movie to praise or admire. For all the more innovative it is in its character and plot design, there is no reason for me to choose this movie about, say, Not Another Teen Movie; an equally offensive, generic comedy with cardboard cut-out characters. At least that movie made me laugh. And when analyzing a comedy, that single factor should take precedence above all others. The simple question, "was this movie funny"? To me, the answer is no.