Bridesmaids (Rhoades)

Does “Bridesmaids”
Share a Secret Laugh?

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Don’t tell anyone, but I’m pretty sure this is a secret that mothers hand down to their daughters that men are never supposed to know: There’s an Unwritten Rule for weddings that the bride must choose dresses for her bridesmaids that are ugly in order to make herself stand out as beautiful.
True?

Why else would otherwise attractive young women subject themselves to wearing matching dresses that are shaped like rutabagas or ill-fitted cocktail garb, yards of fabric in garish colors like eggplant, banana, sea foam, and morning mist?

In the comedy “Bridesmaids” – currently marching down the aisle at the Tropic Cinema – we meet Annie (Kristen Wiig) who is Maid of Honor at her best friend Lillian’s (Maya Rudolph) wedding.
Annie’s experiences in giving her gal pal a proper send-off makes for a funny plot – not unlike a female version of “The Hangover.” And you can count on plenty of giggles, because “Bridesmaids” was produced by that laugh factory known as Apatow Productions. You’ll recall that Judd Apatow gave us such comedic gems as “Knocked Up,” “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express,” and “Get Him to the Greek.”

Here the girls travel to Vegas (sound familiar?) for a bachelorette party that “none of them will forget…or remember!”

This all-girls comedy makes a good starring vehicles for Wiig and Rudolph, two faces that are familiar to fans of TV’s “Saturday Night Live.”

You recently saw Wiig in “MacGruber” and “Paul.” And heard her voice in “Despicable Me” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”

And you also saw Rudolph in “MacGruber” and “Grown Ups.” As well as heard her in “Shek the Third.”
A sad note, the late actress Jill Clayburgh makes her final appearance in “Bridesmaid.” She was nominated for Academy Awards for her roles in “An Unmarried Woman” and “Starting Over.”
Don’t expect “Bridesmaids” to produce any Oscar nods, but do count on a few belly laughs. Maybe the women in the audience will laugh a little harder than the men – but I suspect that’s because they are secretly in on the joke.

srhoades@aol.com
[from Solares Hill]