With few exceptions ( The Truman Show, obviously), these films rarely make a dent at the box office, so Everything Must Go is destined only for art-house acceptance or, failing that, the tiny multiplex auditorium that isn't playing Thor or one of the myriad summer sequels. Jim Carrey has The Truman Show and The Man on the Moon, Adam Sandler has Punch-Drunk Love and Spanglish, and Will Ferrell has Stranger Than Fiction and now Everything Must Go. Inside every comedian known for vulgarity, there apparently resides a master thespian hoping to break away from the gags that initially defined his career. Granted, the actress has been around for years, but with Bridesmaids, it's not exactly inappropriate to declare that a star is born.
The imaginative casting continues with Wiig's romantic interest: Rather than predictably sign the usual lug like Gerard Butler or Ashton Kutcher, they went with relative unknown Chris O'Dowd, an appealing Irish actor who matches up nicely with Wiig.Īs expected, the film contains a smattering of gross-out gags, yet while some are undeniably funny, they can't compete with the moments in which the laughs stem mostly from Wiig's genuine comic chops, whether it's the aforementioned microphone scene or the sequence in which she unwisely mixes booze and pills while aboard an airplane. Because she's obese, McCarthy's character endures the most humiliations - some things never change - but the game actress is nevertheless a dynamic presence. Wiig's Annie and Byrne's Helen are as different from the rest of the bridesmaids as they are from each other - Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey) looks for any chance to get away from her married life, Becca (Ellie Kemper) is as naive as a Disney heroine, and Megan (Melissa McCarthy) is always on the prowl for a good time.
Working from a screenplay she co-wrote with Annie Mumolo, she possesses the same sort of brashness that the likes of Madeline Kahn and Bette Midler used to display in comedies, yet her more delicate features allow her to smoothly apply the brakes and ease back into the more frail aspects of her characterization. The talented comedienne has perked up many a movie in supporting roles, and she's sensational in her largest part to date. the abysmal Something Borrowed).īut let's be quick to steer most of the credit away from Apatow - and even director Paul Feig - and place it where it clearly belongs: at the feet of Wiig. The 40-Year-Old Virgin) - than with the usual formulaic rom-coms with female protagonists and wedding themes (e.g. Judd Apatow is one of its producers, and the film certainly falls in line more with his brand of product - raunchy comedies that often reveal unexpected depths (e.g. It's a great sequence, so confident in its ability to convey not only the awkwardness of the situation but also point a laser beam directly at Annie's insecurity, Helen's plasticity and Lillian's bemusement-bordering-on-irritability.īridesmaids can't maintain such a high level of hilarity over the course of its 125 minutes, but when its game is on, it ranks among the funnier endeavors of the past few years. This tension plays out at a social engagement in which Annie and Helen keep snatching the microphone out of each other's hands, in order to one-up the touchy-feely sentiments directed at Lillian. But in more recent times, Lillian has acquired another close friend, the lovely and wealthy Helen (Rose Byrne), and suddenly Annie feels threatened. Annie (Kristen Wiig) and Lillian (Maya Rudolph) have been best friends since early childhood, so when Lillian announces her engagement, it's no surprise that she chooses Annie as her maid of honor. The most perfectly realized scene in Bridesmaids is an early one.
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