Movie Review: Bridesmaids

Annie (Kristin Wiig) and Lillian (Maya Rudolph).

Bridesmaids (2011)
Starring: Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Chris O'Dowd and Jon Hamm
Screenplay By: Kristin Wiig and Annie Mumolo
Directed By: Paul Feig

This movie is being sold as "the female version of The Hangover." However, it's not as crass and vulgar as the 2009 buddies comedy and places more emphasis on the relationships between the characters involved -- and I think most people will consider that a good thing. Bridesmaids is a good enough film to stand on its own without the help of comparisons to The Hangover. 

Bridesmaids is a fresh and funny take on your average female-bonding flick, which is a welcome change. It's a genuine comedy, not a romantic comedy (although there are elements of romance in the background). There is no sad, 30-something "spinster" woman who spends the entire two hour running time mourning her lack of a boyfriend while forgetting/ignoring all the other great things she has going on in her life (because, apparently, all women do is dream about their wedding day). Kristin Wiig (who co-wrote the script) set out to make a character-driven film about female friendship without falling into tired stereotype traps. Her character may be a little sad -- but sad in a completely charming, likeable and relatable way. 


Annie (Wiig) has a lot of loose ends in her life -- a series of failed commitments have prevented her from ever finding success. Her attempt at running her own bakery backfired, leaving her strapped for cash and having to resort to a job as a sales girl at a jewellery store. On top of all that, Annie's strange British roommates, Brynn and Gil (Rebel Wilson and Matt Lucas), want her out of the house and she's in a dead-end, "no strings attached" relationship with Ted (an uncomfortably creepy, albeit awesome, Jon Hamm). The only respite Annie has from her unhappy situation is her lifelong friendship with Lillian (Maya Rudolph). However, when Lillian reveals that she's getting married and asks Annie to be her maid-of-honour, it forces her to come out of her shell and relate to the "other" women in Lillian's life. The engagement of her closest friend upsets the constancy of Annie's life and she must learn to come to terms with all the changes that come with it. While planning the wedding, Annie must learn to cope with the eclectic group of Lillian's bridesmaids -- the voracious sexual appetite of the groom's sister, Megan (Melissa McCarthy), the timidity of Becca (Ellie Kemper), the brashness of busy working mom, Rita (Wendy McLendon-Covey) and the overbearingly irritating, rich and beautiful "new friend", Helen (Rose Byrne).

The script doesn't give Annie a clear goal -- there are a variety of issues she must combat and, ultimately, her end goal is to simply survive everything involving her personal life and Lillian's wedding. The antics that ensue, which range from the gross to the charming, allow Wiig to show off her comedic chops which, up until now, has only been used in secondary-character roles. A wonderful comedic actress, Wiig plays Annie in such a refreshingly honest (and awkward) way that it's impossible not to root for her. However, she doesn't completely steal the show, letting her co-stars share in the glory, especially the hilarious McCarthy, who plays Megan with such egoless abandon that she almost completely steals the spotlight. Despite all those loose threads in Annie's life, the script throws in one more situation for her to tackle -- her growing affection for a nice-guy Irish cop named Rhodes (Chris O'Dowd). Although some may consider his role unnecessary to the outcome of the film, Rhodes allows Annie to show a softer side to her personality and the chemistry between Wiig and O'Dowd make the whole Annie-Rhodes subplot a welcome addition to an already bloated plot.

Bridesmaids is an incredibly entertaining film that proves that women can be just as funny as men. Despite it's multiple plot threads, it manages to always come back to its main focus -- Annie and her hilarious awkwardness. It's an interesting hybrid of a film, part female-bonding flick, part quirky romance and part gross-out comedy. But, in the end, it's thoroughly enjoyable.

FINAL: B+

Movie Review: The Town

THE TOWN (2010)
Directed By: Ben Affleck
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite and Chris Cooper

There's been a lot of hype swirling around Ben Affleck's sophomore directorial effort, The Town. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last week and has been earning rave reviews across the board in critic's circles ever since the trailer debuted a couple of months ago. As a result, I went into the film expecting a fresh, original take on the tired genre of bank heist thrillers. Perhaps my expectations were set too high, as I wound up leaving the theatre wondering what all the fuss was about.

Based on Chuck Hogan's novel, Prince of Thieves, the film follows Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) and his group of highly skilled bank robbers terrorizing Charlestown, a blue-collar area of Boston that claims to be the world's capital for carjackings, bank robberies and kidnappings. Donning creepy Halloween masks (different ones for each elaborate robbery), Doug's group leave behind no indication as to their identities, leaving law enforcement, led by FBI Special Agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm), baffled and frustrated. When Doug and his right-hand man James "Jem" Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) make the rash decision of taking bank teller Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage to use as leverage, they inadvertently set off a chain of events that begins with Doug falling head over heels for Claire and culminating in a violent confrontation with law enforcement at Fenway Park.

In terms of visuals and technique, Affleck definitely excels in the director's chair. Like his 2007 debut Gone Baby Gone, The Town has a raw and grainy quality. It's almost as though Affleck is paying homage to Clint Eastwood's work in the directors chair. Affleck portrays his beloved Boston as an overcast, violent and ruthless place, where death can come at any moment, to both criminal or innocent bystander alike. He uses both tight close-ups and jarring action sequences, including an excellent car chase where Doug, Jem and the gang are wearing their now infamous nun outfits and toting machine guns.

For his second feature film, Affleck made the dubious choice of casting himself in the starring role (when I first saw the trailer for the film during the summer, I remember thinking "Was your brother too busy to be in it?"). Affleck lacks the talent, screen presence and charisma of his younger brother, Casey. With his thick Bostonian accent, Affleck's portrayal of Doug is bland and, as a result, it's hard to care about the fate of his character. He doesn't give any indication as to why his character, Doug, is considered the brains of the operation; nor does it give us a real reason to root for him, especially since he continues to cruelly deceive Claire, the woman he supposedly loves. In fact, it feels like Affleck is simply recycling his role as Matt Damon's asshole friend in Good Will Hunting.

The supporting cast all suffer from severely underwritten roles. Each character feels like the stock characters that always figure prominently in action films of this type. Chris Cooper and Pete Postlethwaite (two really great actors) do what they can with what little is given to them as Doug's imprisoned father and the Irish gangster, Fergie Colm, respectively. Jon Hamm is awkward and miscast as FBI Agent Adam Frawley and his character is so wooden and appears to be cut from the typical movie mould of "arrogant, persistent cop". You don't care whether he catches Doug or not, nor do you understand why Frawley seems to be taking all these bank robberies so personally.

I was disappointed (but, sadly, not surprised) by the lack of a solid female role in the film. There are two women in the movie: Claire the bank teller and Krista, Jem's younger sister and Doug's original love interest. While Rebecca Hall and Blake Lively give decent performances with their roles, there is no real depth or strength in their characters. Claire is sweet and virtuous and falls for Doug as quickly as he falls for her. Unbeknownst to Claire, Doug is one of her kidnappers and he continues to unfairly keep her in the dark as to his real identity. She comes across as nothing more than pawn in the big, elaborate game being played by the boys. Krista, on the other hand, has about 10 minutes of screen time and, within that short time frame, she's either high on drugs, ignoring her baby daughter or begging Doug to run away with her.

The only real standout in the cast is Jeremy Renner. He's superb as the hot-headed, trigger-happy punk, Jem, who won't hesitate to kill anyone who stands in his way. With his intense glare and violent disposition, Renner keeps the audience on edge because you never know what ill-conceived idea he'll come up with next. He's essentially a tightly-wound ball of violence and anger. Although, like the other characters, little is known about Jem outside of the main plot, I kept thinking how much more interesting the film would have been had he been the central character. After his Oscar-nominated performance last year in The Hurt Locker, Renner's role in The Town only proves he was no one hit wonder.

When I left the theatre, the only three things I really loved about the film was the Fenway Park shootout, those scary nun masks and Jeremy Renner. Those three reasons alone are worth the price of admission.

Affleck likely has a long future in directing and he's more than capable of telling a good story. Here's hoping his next effort involves a plot with actual characters. Final verdict on The Town? An entertaining way to spend two hours but don't fall for all the hype.

FINAL GRADE: B-