I never intended to see Bridesmaids.
When I saw the trailers at the cinema I thought to myself that it was a cross
between two films I deeply dislike, Sex
and the City and The Hangover.
How wrong I was. I saw the film at the cinema, in IMAX oddly, and for a second
time on TV yesterday and both times I laughed more than enough times to satisfy
and on the first viewing at least, really enjoyed the story. The film helped to
change the perception of women in comedy and gave several great roles to terrific
comic and straight actresses. Written by its star Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo
who herself has a brief but funny cameo, the film is about a group of women
preparing for a wedding. Annie (Wiig) is going through a sort of third life
crisis and feels shunned by her best friend Lillian’s (Maya Rudolph) friendship
with a wealthy and beautiful banker Helen (Rose Byrne). Things go from bad to
worse for Annie as she loses her job and apartment and reaches rock bottom when
her behaviour at a bridal shower loses her her invite to the wedding.
Showing posts with label Ellie Kemper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ellie Kemper. Show all posts
Monday 24 December 2012
Tuesday 20 March 2012
21 Jump Street
The odd couple relationship between Tatum and Hill works
really well. They seem like total opposites and you can imagine how they
wouldn’t have got on in High School, but at the same time their later
friendship feels real. Jonah Hill plays his familiar chubby loser character
which has worked to varying degrees in the likes of Superbad and The Sitter
but here is thoroughly successful. He also brings added depth to the character
to make him smarter and more caring than in previous incarnations. I have never
seen a Channing Tatum film before having been put off by his annoying name and
face as well as the type of romantic films he’s appeared in, but in this I
thought he was excellent. He has a great double act partner in Hill and plays
the dumb meathead well. His comedic moments are also first-rate. I think he was
funnier than Jonah Hill. Maybe this is where his career could end up when he’s
finished walking on beaches at sunset?
The supporting cast were all great too. Ice Cube was outstanding
as the ‘angry black police sergeant’ although I do wonder what 1992 Ice Cube
would think about 2012 Ice Cube playing a cop in a mainstream Hollywood
comedy. Dave Franco, who is looking more and more like his brother each time I
see him was well cast as the arrogant, cock-sure popular kid and The Office’s Ellie Kemper was very
flirtatious and funny as a teacher with a crush on Tatum. Rob Riggle plays a
strange character but pulls it off well. There isn’t really a weak link
anywhere in the cast.
I didn’t work out who the bad guy was before the reveal but
the film had me laughing so much that I didn’t even think about whom it was and
when we found out I didn’t really care. On the downside, some of the jokes feel
a bit stretched and the love story between Hill and the school girl felt
forced. Also, it was obvious as soon as she said “I’m 18” for no reason that it
was going to happen. That’s the green light to tell the audience that although
she’s in school its all legal and above board. There is a great cameo towards
the end which both shocked and delighted my girlfriend and despite the
formulaic Hollywood ending this is a
successful comedy. I look forward to the sequel which was heavily implied at
the end.
8/10
Labels:
2012,
8/10,
Action,
Brie Larson,
Channing Tatum,
Chris Miller,
Comedy,
Dave Franco,
DeRay Davis,
Ellie Kemper,
Ice Cube,
Johnny Depp,
Jonah Hill,
Phil Lord,
Rob Riggle
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