Bridesmaids

Another cast member from the TV series 'Saturday Night Live' makes the transition from small screen to big. And in a change of pace it is not as a character from the TV series.

One of the curses of being such a fan of movies as I am is that I get to know all the conventions and techniques they use to make movies. Also doing a script writing course a few years ago does not help either. I can find myself over analyzing a film and looking for mistakes or problems. This might be because the film itself is not good enough to keep me involved with the story. I found that to be the problem I had here. I went in expecting to really enjoy the film but I came out not as enamored with it as I'd hoped. Most comedies I feel should stick with in the time limit of 90-100 minutes. Any more than that and they feel like they are over staying their welcome. While I admit there are comedies which can last to the 120 minute mark, these are few and far between. A director who is guilty of the overly long comedy is Judd Apatow. While he did not direct this film he was one of the producers and I think it looks like he has had some influence over the edit. There were a couple of scenes which I felt were not important to the plot and could have been cut. There were also other scenes that should have been re-written to be shorter and not drag on. Part of the problem too is the improvisation the actors do. I do not mind this and can see some funny stuff coming out of it, but it can mean that the scenes look like the actors are searching for something to say and it makes the scenes drag. Another problem I had has more to do with how I saw the film. I did not find it as funny as I had hoped and I think this was because I saw it with a small audience. I got the impression that it would have been better with a larger audience. When I heard a joke I felt like they needed a big laugh from the audience.

One of the good points about the film is that Kristen Wiig has certainly written an excellent part for herself. In the support roles she has had so far we have seen that she is a very gifted comedic actress and she proves she can handle a film on her own too. Kristen is very funny and does not mind making herself look silly for a joke. Something I appreciate in an actor. Kristen has surrounded herself with some very funny women. Rose Byre has not had much of a chance to show her funny side and its great she gets to do that here. She is perfect as the rich bitch. Being a fellow cast member on 'Saturday Night Live' Maya Rudolph means that they have an excellent rapour and so their movie relationship feels real. Melissa McCarthy gets to be more outrageous than she normally is and is brilliant at it. Matt Lucas and Aussie Rebel Wilson make a fine pair of funny siblings.

I'm one of the few people who did not completely love this film. My over analytical movie mind has somehow ruined my enjoyment. You'll probably like it more than I did.