Bridesmaids (2011)

Competition between the maid of honor and a bridesmaid, over who is the bride's best friend, threatens to upend the life of an out-of-work pastry chef.

Director:

Paul Feig

Writers:

Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

Stars:

Kristen Wiig, Terry Crews, Maya Rudolph

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 44 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kristen Wiig	...	Annie Walker
Terry Crews	...	Boot Camp Instructor
Maya Rudolph	...	Lillian
Tom Yi	...	Jewelry Store Couple
Elaine Kao	...	Jewelry Store Couple
Michael Hitchcock	...	Don Cholodecki
Kali Hawk	...	Kahlua
Joe Nunez	...	Oscar the Security Guard (as Joseph A. Nunez)
Rebel Wilson	...	Brynn
Matt Lucas	...	Gil
Jill Clayburgh	...	Annie's Mom
Wendi McLendon-Covey	...	Rita
Ellie Kemper	...	Becca
Greg Tuculescu	...	Kevin
Steve Bannos	...	Annie's Mistaken Husband

Storyline

Annie (Kristen Wiig), is a maid of honor whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), and a group of colorful bridesmaids (Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) on a wild ride down the road to matrimony. Annie's life is a mess. But when she finds out her lifetime best friend is engaged, she simply must serve as Lillian's maid of honor. Though lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals. With one chance to get it perfect, she'll show Lillian and her bridesmaids just how far you'll go for someone you love.

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Plot Keywords:

bridesmaid | maid of honor | best friends | friendship | cake | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong sexuality, and language throughout

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [es]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Damas en guerra

Filming Locations:

Orange, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$26,247,410 (USA) (13 May 2011)

Gross:

$169,076,745 (USA) (23 September 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Apatow Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min 131 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Highest grossing R-rated female comedy of all time in the domestic box office, edging out Sex and the City.

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Goofs

An Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) public bus can be seen in a background shot. OCTA operates in Orange County, California. The film is set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Quotes

Nervous Woman on Plane: I have to go to the bathroom but I heard about a woman who went to the bathroom on the plane - she got sucked into the toilet. Sucked right in.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.210 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Violet"
Written by Courtney Love and Eric Erlandson
Performed by Hole

User Reviews

A somewhat tender film that pushes the boundaries of comedy

I'm not the biggest Judd Apatow fan, but I do consider his films entertaining. A good majority of the films produced under the Apatow Productions moniker are more than a little amusing, as well. In fact, I'm partial to both Anchorman and Pineapple Express. Despite Apatow's involvement with the film, Bridesmaids didn't really interest me all that much in concept. Another R-rated comedy revolving around a wedding with a mostly female cast? Who cares? The underestimation on my part probably helped the film more than anything as Bridesmaids turned out to be an adult comedy with a little more meat on its bones than the trailers perhaps lead you to believe.

While the film is both filthy and raunchy at times, the foundation of Bridesmaids lies within the relationship between Annie and Lillian. Their chemistry along with the way they both screw up their lives when they're away from one another is the heart and soul of the film. Lillian's marriage falling apart is kind of a given just with how eccentric each character in the main cast is, but Annie's depression, downward spiral, and inability to drive herself forward rather than continuously pushing herself back is key to giving the film an emotional kick that isn't even hinted at in the trailers. Melissa McCarthy steals nearly every scene that she's in thanks to her outrageous antics and incredibly high self esteem. Nearly every one of the bridesmaids gets a good laugh at some point in the film even if a few of them (Reno! 911's Wendi McLendon-Covey and The Office's Ellie Kemper) don't get as much screen time as others.

Bridesmaids almost felt like it was stronger during its more dramatic and softhearted sequences in comparison to the overall comedic atmosphere of the rest of the film, which is weird since it is absolutely a comedy. While the obscene and sometimes scatological jokes used in the film were mostly original in execution and chuckle-worthy at times, it somehow all just felt very familiar to me. The Brazilian food that gave them all food poisoning felt like it borrowed heavily from Dumb & Dumber, the Wilson Phillips joke was funnier in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, while most of the scenes on the airplane seemed to offer a female version of a scene straight out of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles with more profanity. Then there's the film itself which was like Wedding Crashers if seen through the eyes of the women in the actual wedding. I guess on one hand, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. All of those comedies are rather exceptional while at least two of them would be considered classics, but that sense of familiarity was still there like Déjà vu sneaking up behind you and trying to tickle you while spewing a constant string of F-bombs.

Bridesmaids is a dirty, vulgar, over the top comedy that attempts to affect your limits of compassion just as much as the extent of your hilarity. While some of the gross-out humor came off as a little much at times, Kristen Wiig is able to prove just how talented she really is. It is at least able to offer an R-rated comedy that both sexes will enjoy, which is more that can be said for most PG-13 romantic comedies. Bridesmaids is an entertaining stumble into borderline comedic genius that will keep people talking about it long after it's relevant.