Bridesmaids

I wish I could explain to you in specific detail the sheer hilarity of "Bridesmaids," but alas my morals inform me that I must not. For I must not taint its comedic genius for you, dear reader, before you've set your eyes on this comedy behemoth from, as the poster understandably gloats, the producer of "Superbad," "Knocked Up," and "The 40 Year-Old Virgin."

Yes, this is another Judd Apatow buddy-movie production, but this time with a little twist and shake. You see, if you pay specific attention to this film, you may come to notice something that is very strange indeed: all of the main characters have a pair of knockers attached to their chests. And no, this isn't Seth Rogen playing multiple characters. Shocking as it is, "Bridesmaids" stars a bunch of chicks, but please do not let this fact put you off purchasing a ticket, sexist male readers. For I am a man, testicles and all, and I loved every gosh darn side-splitting second of director Paul Feig's hysterical "Bridesmaids;" this ain't no typical chick-flick tripe.

The film stars Saturday Night Live champion Kristen Wiig (who is also one of the film's two writers) as Annie Walker, a money-struggling thirtysomething who has been working in a jewellery store ever since her beloved bakery store went out of business. She has two annoying English flatmates (played by Rebel Wilson and Matt Lucas), and regularly sleeps with a piggish sex buddy named Ted (Jon Hamm, "The Town"). And her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph, "Away We Go") has just got engaged, making Annie the Maid of Honour.

Due to the loose plotting of "Bridesmaids," the film is essentially a series of set-pieces of things going horribly wrong before Lillian's wedding. Annie, along with the four bridesmaids (played by Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper), begin to prepare for the special occasion, helping pick out a dress for the beautiful bride, organising a bachelorette party and bridal shower, and of course planning out the big day itself. All the while, Annie gets friendly with a local cop (Chris O'Dowd, "Gulliver's Travels"), becomes jealous of Lillian's relationship with oh-so-perfect Helen (Byrne), and her life begins to spiral a bit out of control.

Every ounce of humour is brilliantly enforced into situations that become awkward, embarrassing and sometimes cringe-inducing. Wiig and co-writer Annie Mumolo are incredibly creative with their comedy chops, keeping the laughs consistently satisfying for the unusual 125-minute length.

The comedy is a typical brand of uncomfortable predicaments mixed in with gross-out moments that mostly involve bodily fluids (fret not, they're well-used). The feminine cast certainly do not act particularly ladylike in "Bridesmaids" as they get piss-drunk on airplanes and shit in bathroom sinks. It's sort of refreshing to see women doing all of these things after "American Pie" and "The Hangover" have showed off the boys on their havoc-causing antics. And guess what? The women in a comedy are actually interesting characters for once! Suck on that, "Sex and the City 2."

Yes, these females aren't treated as just sex on legs, unlike most recent fare, which I guess can be attributed to the film being written by two very talented women. Our main characters are all very fun personalities, from the stuck-up, incredibly well-connected Helen to the sturdy, food-loving Megan (McCarthy). And our protagonist is someone we care for, Annie actually having some development as the story progresses, shown to be insecure, her character serving as the beating heart of the film.

Is "Bridesmaids" a feminist film? In a way, yes, it is, it showing that women can indeed do what the guys off "American Pie" and "The Hangover" do, and that they can do it stonkingly well. Forgive me if I'm dwelling on the female aspect of "Bridesmaids" too much, because I do think it's a bit sad that we're still at a stage where we have to point out that a film stars females (gasp), this still seen to be a surprise in the world of cinema. I trust that it will open the door for more female-oriented comedies that don't showcase ditzy blondes whom the camera follows like a sex pest on Viagra.

And I can assure you that "Bridesmaids" should have no problem getting through to manly men; I'm sure the raunchy humour will be satisfactory to most. This is a comedy that is inventive, smart, has a heart and is generally just uproariously funny. You will laugh, you will laugh some more, and you will not feel like a nail-filing, mascara-applying girl for doing so.

10/10