Plot: What’s it about?
I think one of the reasons that some people hold off on getting married is the sheer preparation involved to get there. Take me, for example. I got married last year and was 100% in favor of going to Las Vegas and getting hitched along with some family. Nope. Didn’t happen. Then again men tend to look at the wedding (note, not marriage, the wedding) a lot differently than women. For some reason I remember an episode of “Friends” in which Ross is getting married (again) and he mentions to Monica that he’s been planning the wedding for the last couple of months. Monica then replies that “she’s been planning this since she was six.” And that really made an impact on me and showed exactly how different men and women are when it comes to the wedding. And “Bridesmaids” epitomizes that to a tee.
Annie (Kristen Wiig) isn’t doing so well. She sleeps with a man who only wants her for sex, then kicks her out right afterwards. Her bakery has since gone out of business and she hates her job. Her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph) has just gotten engaged and has chosen Annie as her maid of honor. Annie must now endure the process and Lillian’s eccentric family-to-be and friends, else she’ll go crazy. As we might expect, the rest of the bridesmaids are a colorful group to say the least. There’s Becca (Ellie Kemper), a straight-laced woman who’s sexually frustrated. Megan (Melissa McCarthy), Lillian’s soon to be sister-in-law who’s rough around the edges (and the scene-stealer of the movie) and Helen (Rose Byrne), who constantly competes with Annie for Lillian’s approval. Will this rag tag group of bridesmaids make it to the wedding or will they kill each other first?
First off, I liked “Bridesmaids”, I laughed out loud on several occasions and will most likely watch the movie again. I feel that Megan McCarthy was the funniest person in the cast and I’m sure we’ll see more of her. Kristen Wiig seemed to do the same routine she does on so many SNL skits and while entertaining, I felt a “been there, done that” to her performance. The movie was described as somewhat of a female version of “The Hangover” and while I don’t think that’s entirely accurate, I can see where that parallel was drawn. Having now seen both “The Hangover” and “Bridesmaids” I prefer the former, but I do need to get a woman’s point of view on this one. Suffice it to say that you’ll be entertained, and that’s what it’s really all about.
Video: How does it look?
“Bridesmaids” comes to Blu-ray in a nice-looking 2.40:1 AVC HD transfer that’s indicative of a new to Blu-ray film. The overall color palette is very colorful, with plentiful use of bright, vivid colors and enough outdoor scenery to really set the mood. There are a handful of darker scenes or those that take place indoors, but even those seem to be well lit have a lighter spectrum. Detail is top notch, with even the most intricate things noticeable, you can count the wrinkles in Kristen Wiig’s forehead every time she talks. The transfer is only marred by a few scenes that have a bit of softness to them and one had the tiniest bit of grain, but overall this is a great-looking film and I doubt audiences will have much to complain about here.
Audio: How does it sound?
The DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack is good, but not great. Then again I wasn’t really expecting big things from this soundtrack, save maybe a few physical gags here and there. Comedies aren’t known for having very dynamic soundtracks and this is no exception. Now by no means does is sound dull or drab, vocals are very strong and consistent (enough so that you can hear Wiig’s mumbling throughout), but nothing really left an indelible impression on me, either. This is about what we’d expect from a day an date release and more than serves its purpose.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Universal is certainly giving a bit more attention to Blu-ray exclusives as evidenced by this edition. That’s not to say that the standard DVD doesn’t get any supplements, it does, but the lion’s share are found on the Blu-ray. Having said that, let’s dive in to the extras. We’ll start off with the supplements found on the DVD as all of those are also found on the Blu-ray. The director’s commentary also has the writer, Annie Mumolo, and the five actresses who seem to be having a jolly ‘ol time while recording this very interesting track. Fans of the movie will love this track as it’s nearly as good as the movie itself. “Line-O-Rama” is a collection of the improvised lines from the movie. “Cholodecki’s Commercial” is just that, a cheesy commercial at the fictional jewelry store where Annie was employed. We get some extended and deleted scenes as well as some outtakes. Moving onto the Blu-ray exclusives we find another deleted scene, this one featuring actor Paul Rudd. “Roommates” is even more deleted scenes and a commercial for “Oo-laka Juice.” We get a sampling of several other instances from the film with even more outtakes and alternate scenes. These actresses are all very improvisational and there were no shortage of footage left on the cutting room floor – it all ended up here. We do get a DVD of the movie as well as a Digital Copy and the usual assortment of Universal’s Blu-ray supplements like their iPhone/iPad app.
