The Thousands

To view Bridesmaids as ‘the female Hangover’ or ‘Judd Apatow does Sex and the City’ really sells it short. Sure, it’s a female-centric romantic comedy that passes the Bechdel test, but you should see it because it’s piss-funny, moving and treats women as people, not as ‘chicks’. Yeah, the ladies get shitfaced, behave bawdily and lose control of bodily functions. But rather than just celebrating childish antics, Bridesmaids explicitly shows how marriage ushers people into adulthood – and how friendship is more vital to this rite of passage than romantic love.

Feckless womanchild Annie (Kristen Wiig) has a bankrupt bakery business, a self-involved ‘dickhead with benefits’ (Jon Hamm) and appalling brother-and-sister housemates (Matt Lucas and Rebel Wilson). Bridesmaids finds both hilarity and poignancy in Annie’s increasingly deranged rivalry with trophy wife Helen (Rose Byrne) to be closest to Lillian (Maya Rudolph) as Lillian’s pre-wedding rituals unfold. And while Annie starts a sweet romance with highway patrolman Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd), what really help her grow up are the new friends she makes, especially butch fellow bridesmaid Megan (the scene-stealing Melissa McCarthy). It’s so refreshing to see a comedy that actually cares about its characters.