By Fred Ibarra 

Bridesmaids, USA, 2011

Directed by Paul Feig

Saturday Night Live alums Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph teamed up in last weekend’s number one box office hit, Bridesmaids. The comedy, according to 37-year-old Wiig, who co-wrote it with Annie Mumolo, was supposed to penetrate the subject of the comedic events that exist in pre-wedding planning; but some of Wiig’s personal sorrows of being a thirty-something with no direction were sprinkled into the plot, making it a huge success as her first starring role in a motion picture.

Wiig’s appearances on the big screen include Knocked Up (2007), Adventureland, Whip It, Extract (all 2009), and MacGruber (2010). She was credited in the latter work for finally capturing that certain “oomph” which she has displayed in her many roles for six years so far on SNL, including Aunt Linda, a film critic with terrible taste; Penelope, the compulsive one-upper; Gilly, a schoolgirl who says “sorry” after violent pranks on her classmates; and the Target Lady.

The role taken by Wiig’s maid of honor in Bridesmaids gave a stellar feel similar to that received when a performer takes his or her cue on American Idol and ends up owning the stage; her portrayal does not simply make you laugh, it makes you sad at times. Unfortunately, much of the plot keeps heading in an unnecessary downward spiral: she has a loser “f**k buddy”; she has a terrible roommate, who eventually throws her out; she loses her job at a jewelry store because she keeps misdirecting her hatred for her relationships and friendships. There are points in the movie where anyone would be convinced that it would be rock bottom, but it isn’t. All the while, Wiig develops a great relationship with the camera, being able to give the audience what they came for as well as demonstrate her serious side in a leading role.

Another humorous anecdote about the feature, which only true Hollywood movie detail aficionados would catch, is that most of the scenes exhibited in the movie trailer are not in the movie. It’s rare for movie trailer producers to get ahold of the unedited, full-length film – which is typically three hours long – and pick out scenes that do not make the cut, but it happens. It happened to Half Baked (1998), where one of the actors jumps over the parking meter, and it happened to Bridesmaids on numerous occasions, including the part in which Rudolph (the bride) runs across the street and nose-dives onto the floor, all while wearing a wedding gown, and the scene in which a potential date’s son takes one of Wiig’s birth-control pills and shockingly states, “I ate Saturday.”

Contact the Author: Fred.Ibarra@symbioticloopmedia.com