For Chicks, By Chicks: Bridesmaids Movie Review

Last Friday afternoon, with the sun out, cool breeze set, and classes finished, my friend Nicole and I decided that it was necessary we go on a downtown outing and have some girl time. After grabbing a sandwich and salad combo for a quick dinner, we headed to ShowPlace ICON Theatre located on Roosevelt Road and purchased our tickets for Bridesmaids, a comedy that was released May 13. (By the way, about the theatre—If you go there, get the tart frozen yogurt with toppings. It is delicious.) Going in, I knew Bridesmaids had the label of a “chick flick,” yet I had also read numerous reviews citing that it was not your typical rom-com. There would be no makeover scene or guy-meets-girl-then-attempts-to-get-her storyline. Instead, it was supposed to be a combination of funny, gross, raunchy, and emotional—a film starring chicks, for chicks. 
 
Not surprisingly, Bridesmaids tells the story of a group of women preparing for a friend’s wedding, the future bride played by SNL alum Maya Rudolph. The bridesmaids are all extremely different in character, ranging from the utterly shameless, hyper-aggressive Megan to the always prim and proper Helen. The story centers on the tribulations of maid of honor, Annie (played by another SNL cast member, Kristen Wiig), who appears to be failing in all aspects of her life including romance, career, and friendship.
 
Without giving away major details, I will give you a overview of the movie. One, it is hilarious. Like laugh-out-loud-fifty-times-during-the-movie funny. At one point, I think I even slapped my knee; I didn’t think people actually did that. Bridesmaids does not steer away from the gross-out humor, either. There is a scene in which the ladies get symptoms of food poisoning during their dress fittings and the outcome is very, very disgusting (yet makes for probably one of the funniest scenes). In addition to the comedic scenes are more tender moments in which we examine the girls’ friendships as the ladies engage in vulnerable “girl talk,” something we have all experienced. While our problems may not necessarily correlate with Annie’s—she has a failed bakery business and encroaching brother-sister duo as roommates—I, like most girls, have definitely been trapped in dilemmas in which I desperately wanted and/or needed a friend to stand by me and help get me through it. Though Bridesmaids is blatantly a comedy, it leaves room for soft spots, a collective “aww” being exhaled from the audience occasionally, whether it is during a heart-to-heart scene between girlfriends or between Annie and her love interest (who is equipped with the cutest Irish accent).
 
Due to the number of laughs it provided me, I highly recommend Bridesmaids. Although the movie would be ideal for a girls’ night out, it is most definitely not reserved just for a female audience. There was a couple sitting besides me and the man was reeling with laughter. But besides the laughs, Bridesmaids will remind you of how lucky we girls are to have each other. Added plus—the movie stars golden retriever puppies!