Here come the "Bridesmaids," great early reviews for the new Kristen Wiig comedy, which looks to strike the tone of a bromance for women. The movie premiered in March at SXSW and was one of the better reviewed selections of the Austin hipster fest, with /Film's Peter Sciretta singling out Wiig as a sure-shot for a Golden Globe nod for Best Actress in a Comedy next year. And now the Hollywood press is chiming in with their reviews, and the momentum is only building stronger in advance of the movie's May 13 release.
Jeffrey Wells, a notoriously cranky old fart who is very set in his ways (think Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino" if he had his own Hollywood column) and tends to take strong opinions on all matters, has taken a major liking to "Bridesmaids," poo-pooing Variety's Joe Leydon from the start (Leydon apparently gave the movie a mixed-negative review, as opposed to the more popular unqualified raves) before getting right down to the business of major praise. According to Wells, "Bridesmaids" is not only hilarious but deep and resonant, "perhaps a bit sadder and darker than you might expect, but it's way, way deeper, smarter and more realistically grounded and character-driven than any female ensemble comedy since...ever."Wells even goes so far as to compare the movie's microcosmic depiction of a small group of working class friends to Mike Leigh, the British master of cinema verité, whose films include "Secrets & Lies," "Vera Drake," "Happy-Go-Lucky" and most recently the astonishing, melancholic "Another Year." These are the kinds of films that are imported stateside by boutique studio subsidiaries like Sony Pictures Classics, end up collecting a modest box office sum well south of $10 million, and ultimately graduate to beloved gem status among a small collective of cinephile devotees. Little about the above description rings familiar when compared to a Judd Apatow-produced R-rated summer comedy, but the comparison Wells makes is entirely intriguing, thrilling even (to someone like me). Certainly never saw that one coming.
It's Apatow himself who's been responsible for a handful of the best, smartest adult comedies of the last decade, and the best among his many fratty bro projects ("Knocked Up," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin") are somehow slyly, emotionally incisive even while wearing the entertaining costumes of pandering studio comedies. While Apatow produced "Bridesmaids" and Wiig co-wrote the script with a lifelong friend, lets not forget director Paul Feig, who is in fact the creator of the beloved NBC series "Freaks and Geeks," which was widely adored by critics and its cult following of hip young adults yet was criminally canceled after a single season on network television. Fuck the man! I'm going to Universal Pictures to make summer comedies!
In any case, I'm very much looking forward to "Bridesmaids" now, as opposed to just really looking forward before reading all these rapturous raves. Wells takes care to deliver the most important of all pull quotes before wrapping up, clarifying the movie as "easily one of the best of the year." Anybody else see this coming? I didn't think so.
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