BRIDESMAIDS

[mrsl]

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I have patiently waited to see this movie since I first heard of the making of it. It sounded like it would be hilarious and I really looked forward to it. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT!!! Not only was it not funny, it was actually kind of heart-breaking instead. I have to make an exception in the case of Melissa McCarthy. She absolutely steals the show. The only funny scenes are when she appears, except I still take umbrage at the bodily functions bit. Some children might laugh at that section, but only a childish adult with the mentality of a 10 year old would laugh instead of feel great pity for those ladies. As 99% of 'comedies' written and filmed today, this one also held the comedy up for 1/3 of the movie, and near the end turned maudlin and pitiable. This movie really piled it on with the loss of friends, dignity, method of income, and self worth. How sad, this poor girl could not have dropped any lower although much of it was her own fault.

As I've already said, Melissa McCarthy deserved some kind of award for her part in this pile of goop. She was genuinely funny, but I'm curious as to who the star of the movie is. I never heard of, nor have seen Kristen Whig. I've seen Maya Rudolph but couldn't say in what. Rose Byrnes of course, stood out from Damages, she was much more active and mobile here especially since her chin never moves when she talks in Damages. Also, though I saw Melissa in the very beginning on a talk show, I had nothing to compare her with until I came to know and love Molly, which had not yet started on CBS.

So, on a scale of 1 to 10, as a comedy I would give it a 1, and as a drama about a 5.5. I can't even call it a dramedy because in those, the jokes continue to flow occcasionally, but in this they just . . . STOP . . . like a dropped egg which immediately becomes a puddly mess.
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[JackFavell]

I'm glad to see Melissa McCarthy get a career boost. She' s an excellent actress and comedienne, and I really enjoyed her on Gilmore Girls.

[RedRiver]

I had never heard of Kristen Wiig either. I gather she's on SNL. I liked her in this. She's funny and high-strung. The movie has its shortcomings. The throwing up scene is, as you say, revolting. Overall, though, I found it fresh and amusing. It has an improv flavor; something sadly lacking in mainstream comedy. The majority of the humor made me laugh. Some, not so much. Worth a rental!

There's a filmmaker named Judd Apatow. Director, producer, executive person who executes stuff. I find the comedies by him and his colleagues generally worth watching. They're unfortunately vulgar. Annoyingly hip. But ultimately clever. I usually give them a chance.

[ChiO]

Speaking of Judd Apatow, his name appears with some frequency in this recent article about my favorite comedy of the past...oh, good grief!...30 years, DINER.

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/03/diner-201203

[JackFavell]

How annoying that they say "three decades later", as if it were a huge amount of time.

Oh.

Blast!

[srowley75]

Hey Anne (and everyone else)

First, sorry for not posting very much lately. I'm finishing up my last year of grad school and it's been murder. By August I should be back in full force, hopefully. Now I'm still trying to jump through all the hoops and prove myself so that eventually, I'll have a permanent position somewhere. I really do want to get back and contribute to several of the interesting threads I've seen in the past few months.

I did have to reply to this, though. I recently read this Op-ed on HuffPo and thought you'd enjoy it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-farr ... ertainment

And I don't have an aversion to outrageous comedy - I saw this film in a theater and thought there were some funny scenes - but overall I just wasn't as impressed as so many others seem to have been. So much of it either seemed like cheap physical gags or silly, childlike humor derived from bodily functions, etc. - rather high-schoolish, IMO. What's happened to intelligent, dialogue-driven comedy along the lines of Lubitsch, Sturges, the plays of Coward, etc.? Do they even make those kinds of plays/films anymore? I think the last one I saw was Juno by Diablo Cody, and it felt like an anomaly with regard to the current crop. Even independent films, by and large, seem to tend toward either drama or very dark comedy (I've heard Young Adult, the new one scripted by Cody, is much darker).

[mrsl]

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I haven't mentioned it I don't think, but about a year ago I saw 'Holiday' which is one film that managed to get from beginning to end and keep the audience laughing all the way. The two leading ladies switch homes for the holidays from England and Los Angeles and meet guys that seem to make the switch perfect. It's not a gut buster and you won't hold your stomach while laughing and trying to catch your breath, but the amazing thing about it is it runs for the whole movie with no bodily function jokes, no slipping into a mud hole, and no eating strange things found in the bottom of the cereal box. It actually uses the situations and dialog to make you giggle and chuckle now and then. The best thing is, it doesn't turn maudlin at the end with some sudden understanding of ones character analysis.

I wanted to cry at Kristen Whig on the airplane because she was making such a fool of herself, but again, it was because of Rose Byrnes urging her to take the pills with liquor. I so agree with Mr. Farr's assessment of today's comedy in movies. Where are all the graduates from Universities and Colleges who received their degrees in popular writing? Have they quit already?
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[JackFavell]

I want to live in that little cottage of Kate Winslet's!

[knitwit45]

Cameron Diaz's shack wasn't too shabby, either...

[JackFavell]

I'd take it in a heartbeat! The trick would be to own both...

[knitwit45]

You kind of get an idea of how rich Cameron Diaz is, when she books a first class seat/bed on British Airways, with only 12 hours notice, at Christmas time. The last time I checked (2 months ago), first class on BA is going for $14,000.00. gulp......

[JackFavell]

Oh holy cow! That's about eleven house payments for us....

[RedRiver]

YOUNG ADULT is worth watching. But barely. It's not REALLY funny. Not REALLY thought provoking. It's ugly and unpleasant. Dark humor is one thing. This is a story about self serving, mean spirited people. On the positive side, it's kind of intriguing to see what they'll do next! Not bad. But don't drop what you're doing.

[MichiganJ]

I so agree with Mr. Farr's assessment of today's comedy in movies. Where are all the graduates from Universities and Colleges who received their degrees in popular writing? Have they quit already?

It's probably just me, but I think it's disingenuous for Farr to compare the R-rated Bridesmaids to six classic screwball comedies. It's equally, or even more unfair to indirectly compare Kristin Wiig to some of the greatest "fabulous screen comedians of yore."

This is the kind of article that will inevitable keep people away from classic films, rather then draw them to them. In his article, Farr essentially says that if you enjoy movies like Bridesmaids, and don't feel bad about it afterwards, there is something wrong with you and the cure for your ills are these old movies; films that have little or nothing in common with Bridesmaids except that they are all made up of single, still images, which, when projected, appear to move.

There's nothing like being told that "the movies you like are bad/sad and you should try these instead" to turn one completely away from any of the "better for you" recommendations. It's particularly galling when this "advice" comes from someone who admits that he "laughed hard…" during the bad/sad movie, which, one might suppose, was what the filmmakers intended in the first place.

That Farr feels sad about enjoying a film like Bridesmaids is his problem. That he writes about it, essentially condemns it, as well as its' fans, and instead recommends unrelated films from those 'bygone days of yore' is our problem. He's doing classic film no favors.

Maybe Hollywood isn't currently making pure screwball comedies, but many modern comedies contain elements of screwball, and are often smart and well-written. David Mamet, Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Kevin Smith and especially the Coen Brothers are just a few writer/directors that come to mind.

It's not all bad.

[ChiO]

It's probably just me

No, it's not. Nicely stated.