Move over, Kristen Wiig. The ladies of "Bachelorette" have arrived and they may just take the cake as the worst bridesmaids around.
From newcomer Leslye Headland, the raunchy comedy follows a group of high school besties, played by Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher, who are reunited for the wedding of fellow group member (Rebel Wilson) ...and catastrophe ensues.
"Bachelorette" screened at this year's Sundance film festival, where it received mixed reviews but went on to earn nearly $500,000 from video on demand and iTunes since its August debut.
Friday will see its big-screen release, so, in honor of the newest best-worst-bender-ever, let's take a look at the pros and cons of "Bachelorette."
PRO: Rebel Wilson
Holding her own against funnylady Kristen Wiig has helped Rebel Wilson plot a course for the top. While her character here is in the same funny-fat-girl vain of "Bridesmaids" and "What To Expect When You're Expecting" -- meaning it always comes up, like, always (more on that annoying theme later) -- here, Wilson vaults over easy laughs (i.e. wearing a dress intended for a more petite figure) and relies on her often spot-on comedic timing.
PRO: Kirsten Dunst
Maybe she's a genius because Kirsten Dunst's character of Regan (kind of a weird/cool name, right?) is supposed to be an acerbic battle-ax and she definitely is. She's incredibly unlikeable. And I guess that's what she was going for?
CON: Kirsten Dunst
Then again, she was really mean. And not that funny.
PRO: Lizzy Caplan
As is the way with all the ladies of "Bachelorette," you're not supposed to like them. With her high school heart still on her sleeve and deadpan delivery, Lizzy Caplan is probably the one you're most likely to talk to at a party. (She's not exactly the Carrie of the group, but she's definitely the coolest.)
CON: Fat Jokes
"Bachelorette" traffics in fat jokes. It's a constant of the movie. The subtext of the film, boiled down, is this: How could an overweight girl be the first one to get married when three pretty, thin girls are languishing in spinsterhood?! The injustice! Calling out the elephant in the room -- so to speak -- over and over again is not funny. It just isn't. "Bridesmaids," as an example, never explicitly used anyone's physical appearance for a cheap chuckle. The content was funny enough on its own.
PRO: Adam Scott
Are we having fun yet?! "Party Down" co-stars reunite in "Bachelorette," making it one of the only endearing things that happens in the entire movie. Plus, gosh, Adam Scott is just really cute.
CON: Adam Scott's character name is Clyde
There's is no way he's a Clyde.
CON: The Plot
What was supposed to be the female answer to "The Hangover" turned out to be a big, coked-up, frilly disappointment. The lack of side-splitting jokes certainly did not help obscure the fact that "Bachelorette" followed three incredibly bad friends through a wince-worthy night of very avoidable mistakes. Get it together, girls.
PRO: Isla Fisher
Isla Fisher sure does know how to play the fun airhead.
PRO: Andrew Rannells
Lena Dunham's ex-turned-homosexual-bestie Elijah in "Girls" finds a natural home as Isla Fisher's homosexual work friend, who moonlights as a stripper at the girls' bachelorette party.
PRO: "I Would Walk 5000 Miles"
That's a good song. And it has a prominent place in the movie. So, that's nice.
CON: Weird Bulimia Theme/ Vomiting
After the fat theme, vomiting/eating disorder is next up in terms of sheer prevalence. SPOILER: Reagan has struggled with eating disorders her whole life and Isla Fisher's Katie throws up a number of times in the film due to drinking/drugs. (Once with Reagan's patented method. Ew.) It's a strange state vacillating between body jokes, drug use and confessions of high school purging. Also: all that stuff is actually really serious.
PRO: James Marsden
James Marsden goes against his marriage-material face to play a womanizing groomsman and he does it really well!
CON: The assumption that being mean, bitter and doing a whole lot of binge drinking constitutes an unshakeable female bound.
Hopefully, this will be the last of "those" films.
"Bachelorette" hits theaters September 7.
↧