The current cinema, "He wrote WHAT?" edition

Well, "photo-funny" attempt aside, I actually rather like Bridesmaids and gave it a reasonably positive review for MSN Movies. 

Comments

[Scott Lemieux]

It's good -- by far the best product from the Apatow factory since Freaks if not Larry Sanders, and the lack of sexism isn't what makes the movie good (and doesn't stop many of the other products from being good) but is a relief.

[Chris O.]

Nice review, Glenn. I dug it as well. I've been reading comparisons lately of Wiig to Gilda Radner, but, personally, Madeline Kahn comes to mind as well.

According to either the NYT or TIME (or both) profile on Wiig, Apatow was the one who insisted on the over-the-top gross-out moments and jettisoned a quieter dialogue scene telling the writers "No, we're not going to sit and talk." So, I wonder what kind of tone the original draft had and what Mottola would've defended had he directed, since you mentioned him (and he worked with Wiig in "Adventureland").

[christian]

The Apatow shit jokes are stupid and at this point, does anybody think they're funny? It's like mass hypnosis: oh yeah, here's the shit gag.

[copperykeen]

Christian, you seem like the sort of fellow who might go broke overestimating the intelligence of the American public.

[christian]

Sad and so tewwibly twue.

[mark]

@christian: I felt similarly about the "shit" scene; its presence felt more like an obligation, a component necessary for the film to earn its status as a "raunchy" comedy in reviews and marketing material.

But one interesting thing about that scene is how viscerally it captured the physicality of being ill (beyond just various fluid eruptions). Everyone in the scene is pale and sweaty and appears to be in actual pain--in addition to being absolutely horrified about the circumstances they are in. It got really uncomfortable to watch, and made it hard for me to enjoy any jokes/scenes for the 10 minutes or so following it.

I guess what I'm saying is that I give them points for actually putting the characters through the wringer implied by such a scene, instead of just showing someone puking and then moving on.

[Stephanie]

Painfully crude and mostly unfunny, and I thought it would never end. So sorry to see Jill Clayburgh for the last time in this thing. At least she was able to preserve some dignity.