Review: Bridesmaids is NOT a chick flick — in all the worst ways

“Bridesmaids proves that chick flicks don’t have to suck.” – Jen Yamato, Movieline.

There are so many things wrong with the above statement. 

1.) Who says “chick flicks” universally suck?

2.) Bridesmaids is not a chick flick — just because it happens to have a mostly female cast doesn’t mean it’s a chick flick.  By that logic, The Lord of the Rings films are guy flicks because their cast is mostly male.  Oh, and that Dead Poets Society is such a guy flick!

3.) Even if Bridesmaids were a chick flick, the only thing that supposedly would make it not suck — what sets it apart from other “chick flicks” — would be the fact that it’s full of stereotypical “guy” humor.  That’s how a chick flick breaks the glass ceiling nowadays?

Bridesmaids is not a chick flick.  The only thing that could possibly make it a chick flick is the fact that most of the cast is female and the plot revolves around a stereotypically feminine event — a wedding.  Bridesmaids is a gross-out comedy with foul language strewn throughout and a crude sex joke in practically every scene. 

The movie’s about a woman named Annie (Kristen Wiig) who’s feeling down about her love life and career.  Her friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) gets engaged and asks her to be her maid of honor.  Annie then meets the bridesmaids and discovers that Lillian’s newfound friend Helen (Rose Byrne) is eager to sabotage the wedding plans — and Annie’s lifelong friendship.  A battle ensues between them while they plan the event with Lillian’s other bridesmaids, an eccentric cast of characters.

I have to admit that my expectations were high going into an early screening of the film.  I’d watched the trailer, which displayed some clever dialogue and quirky characters.  Please watch below for an idea of what I’m talking about.

In fact, half the funny lines/moments in that trailer didn’t actually make it into the film.  Usually I’m annoyed when the trailer gives away all the funniest moments.  I’m especially annoyed when those moments aren’t even in the movie.

I was also pretty excited about this movie because Paul Feig is associated with it.  Feig created the unbelievably awesome but sadly short-lived series Freaks and Geeks, which served as an honest and funny portrayal of teenage life and gave a bunch of famous actors their big break.  That show’s charm and wit is barely discernable in this film.  It peeks through every once in a while, mostly in the scenes between Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, whose friendship is goofy and believable.  Their interactions often reminded me of the ways my friends and I interact — acting silly for no reason at all, saying and doing things other people wouldn’t understand.  They had great chemistry.  Too bad they were barely in the movie together.

One of the worst things about Bridesmaids is that not only are most of the jokes flat-out gross, but the gags never seem to end.  The scene in the dress shop is absolutely disgusting and full of over-used toilet humor.  And it lasts FOREVER.  Same with Kristen Wiig’s various fits of rage, in which she screams and acts like an idiot.  It took her initially funny and likable character and turned her into a petty, short-tempered little girl.

The cast is so promising, but they’re not given strong enough characters to work with.  Wiig and Rudolph are two of the funniest women to be featured on Saturday Night Live in recent years.  Sadly, their characters aren’t allowed to interact enough.  Ellie Kemper is adorable and hilarious on The Office.  She’s barely featured.  Melissa McCarthy has been lovable and witty on shows like Gilmore Girls and Samantha Who?, but in this she’s simplified down to a stereotype.

I must say that Rose Byrne was an unexpected addition to the cast.  I know her from mostly dramatic work, so it was surprising to see her assoiciated with a comedy.  She was one of the highlights of the movie.  She played the snobby friend well, but she wasn’t so bitchy that she couldn’t be sympathetic.

Another majorly disappointing aspect of the film is that is was that it was co-written by Wiig herself, but that weird humor that she’s known for on SNL doesn’t really translate well as a writer.  It was unusual to me that  a screenplay written by two women about women could be so stereotypically “guy.”  What I mean by that is that the humor is so far on one end of the spectrum — not to say that only guys enjoy it.  But it’s on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from, say, a sappy romantic comedy, which stereotypically would attract mostly women.  Is the only way for female comedies to break through the so-called glass ceiling to travel completely to one extreme and utilize stereotypically male humor?  Can there be no happy medium, no films written by women that depict women truthfully through humor that all genders can relate to and appreciate?

Oh, yeah.  There can.  They’re called Mean Girls.  And Clueless.  And even Legally Blonde.  All three written by women and featuring women and women’s issues.  And all funny in a way that doesn’t exclude either gender.  I’m pretty much obsessed with Tina Fey.  I think she’s one of the funniest, smartest, coolest women people in show business.  And her screenplay for Mean Girls is quoted constantly by people my age — male and female.

Bow down to this woman.

So, yeah. Bridesmaids disappointed me.  If you like the kind of humor in the above trailer, it might not be the movie for you.  If you like toilet jokes and pervasive references to sex, then go ahead — you might like it.

Top 5 Films About Mental Illness

I think it’s about time I posted another list.

Not all films about mental illness are horror movies.  Don’t get me wrong, a lot of those are good, but I’m interesed in looking at the films that portray mentally ill individuals more sympathetically.  These films are in no particular order, and as you’ll see, some obvious choices are left out.  I wanted to make a short list of the more unexpected films about mental illness that I think are worth checking out.  I’ve certainly left out a lot of really great films, so don’t get the idea that these are the only five worth seeing.

1. Benny and Joon: Mary Stuart Masterson is Joon, a mentally ill (possibly schizophrenic, although it’s never said explicitly) artist living with her brother Benny (Aiden Quinn).  Johnny Depp is Sam, the eccentric relative of Benny’s friend whom Benny is forced to take in after losing a poker game.  Sam models himself on Buster Keaton, wearing quirky clothes and performing slapstick comedy.  Joon and Sam form an unusual couple, despite her brother’s overprotective nature.  This film is a lovely look into the unusual nature of love.  Johnny Depp is charming as Sam, and Masterson is strong and heartbreaking as Joon.  Definitely a unique romantic comedy.  I’d suggest it for dates/girls’ nights (hate that expression, but can’t think of another one) with people who don’t care for The Notebook.

2. The Aviator: I already included this film in my list of favorite biopics, but it’s also noteworthy for its portrayal of obsessive compulsive disorder.  Leonardo DiCaprio is stellar (robbed at the Oscars) as pilot and filmmaker Howard Hughes, a man who let his passion and perfectionism get the best of him.  The film’s representation of Hughes’ struggle is riveting and difficult to watch.  But you can’t look away.

3. The Hours: I don’t know if any film has made me cry as much as this one did the first time I saw it.  It’s a haunting, beautiful portrayal of three women — a reader, a writer, and a character.  Julianne Moore is the reader, a ’50s housewife (a role she plays well — see Far From Heaven and The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, both great films) reading Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway while she prepares for her husband’s birthday.  Nicole Kidman is unrecognizable as Virginia Woolf, who’s in the process of writing that very novel.  And Meryl Streep is a modern woman who’s life seems to mirror that of Woolf’s title character.  All three women deal with depression and suicide in one way or another.  It’s a breathtaking film that’ll give you a shocking physical reaction.

4. Lars and the Real Girl:  What can I say about Lars and the Real Girl?  There aren’t enough words to describe how sweet and touching this films is.  Ryan Gosling is Lars, a shy young man who brings his new girlfriend, a sex doll, to the home of his brother and sister-in-law.  Lars has a meaningful, loving relationship with the doll.  His family and neighbors struggle with how to deal with Lars’ strange behavior.  Gosling is so good in this film.  He breaks your heart.  Should have been nominated for an Oscar.  Should have won an Oscar. So good.

5. David and Lisa: I discovered this film in a used DVD store.  I read the description and decided to buy it.  It quickly became one of my favorite films.  It’s about a young man named David (Keir Dullea of 2001 fame), who can’t stand to be touched.  He enters a mental institution for young people and forms an unlikely bond with Lisa (Janet Margolin), a girl with multiple personality disorder who loves to speak in rhyme.  Howard Da Silva is his sympathetic therapist.  It’s a really touching film.

Censored King’s Speech Flops: Is Anyone Surprised?

So, the inevitable happened over the weekend.  Cinematical reported earlier today that the PG-13 version of The King’s Speech wasn’t exactly the success the Weinstein Company expected it to be.  To refresh your memory, the company got the okay from the MPAA back in February to rerelease The King’s Speech with the dreaded F word muted, in order to appeal to a larger audience of kids and families.  You can read my two posts about the issue here and here.   Basically, I didn’t approve of the decision.

Over the weekend, the censored version of the film came in 14th place at the box office, falling about 23 percent from last weekend (the final week of the R-rated version’s run).   So, no surprise here, little kids did not rush to see the new version this past weekend. 

It’s hard to say I’m happy that people didn’t flock to see this stunning Oscar-winner… but it’s a little rewarding that this grand scheme didn’t really work out.  It goes to show that just because a movie has a lower rating doesn’t mean parents are more likely to bring their kids.  All the ten-year-olds who are exposed to violent and sexually explicit films and video games with their parents’ permission are proof of that.  Responsible parents make decisions based on the content of the film, not solely the rating.  And if you ask me, one or two little F bombs that enhance the character and plot development of the film are not enough reason to stop you from taking your kid to see an entertaining and enlightening film.

Let’s hope this box office disappointment leads to an R-rated DVD release.