Movie Reviews
To watch it as any kind of female version of another movie is to miss the point of what co-writer and star Kristen Wiig sets out to achieve. Yes, it’s a case of women behaving badly, as five bridesmaids gather to see Lillian (Maya Rudolph) through the rollercoaster experience of preparing for her big day. And yes, it’s very funny to watch the ladies abandon any pretence to a sisterhood solidarity as they scramble to establish themselves in Lillian’s affections, the better to bask in her reflected glory.
The central conflict is ostensibly between Annie (Wiig), Lillian’s childhood and lifelong friend, and the effortlessly elegant Helen (Rose Byrne), Lillian’s new VBF and a woman whose extravagant lifestyle and domestic bliss is sharply contrasted with Annie’s failure to make a go of her bakery business, and Annie’s futile attempts to convince her current squeeze, Ted (Jon Hamm), to commit to a relationship that goes beyond the bedroom door.
