Weddings are weird, especially for women: the whole bridesmaid thing with its rules and rituals and interpersonal dynamics can be an absolute minefield. And as it turns out, a great source of cringe comedy and gross-out gags too.
Bridesmaids, one of the best Netflix movies, follows Annie Walker (Wiig), a down-on-her-luck single-ish young woman whose only positive pal is her best friend Lillian. So when Lillian asks her to be her maid of honor, Walker can’t say no. But when she meets the other bridesmaids, she’ll soon wish she had.
As Roger Ebert put it: “It definitely proves that women are the equal of men in vulgarity, sexual frankness, lust, vulnerability, over-drinking and insecurity.” That, of course, is a huge part of its appeal.
“Female anxiety deliriously and freakishly off the leash”
Writing in the Charleston City Paper, Felicia Feaster said that the movie is “a tale of female anxiety deliriously and freakishly off the leash, it’s as close to a perfect multiplex comedy as they come”. Time Out agreed: it’s “an effortless blend of bad taste and good humour with a wholly believable, often very touching emotional core, all centred around one of the finest star-making comic performances in recent memory”.
Film School Rejects enjoyed it too. “Kristen Wiig is funny, sweet and pathetic while her life falls apart, the ensemble works well, it’s a comedy unafraid to get disgusting and then get dramatic, and just about every scene works.” And CNN said that “Bridesmaids is a stiletto-sharp, raunchy, no-holds-barred yuk-fest that stands as a worthy female counterpart to the likes of Wedding Crashers and The Hangover“.
Film4‘s Catherine Bray said that the movie is “a confident, self-assured comedy with nothing to prove. Fresh, occasionally foul-mouthed, and funny”. And the sadly defunct Total Film magazine said that “it’s uneven, unwieldy and overlong, but if it’s yucks you’re after you’ll find them in abundance in a side-splitting comedy that lifts the veil on every wedding’s unsung heroines”.