Comedies in which women talk dirty and act stupid and horny – is this such a hard to genre to get right?
It gives you renewed appreciation for “Bridesmaids,” which still stands as the contemporary template for the kind of comedy that always seems to come as a surprise when it’s done well.
But “Bachelorette,” though it has its funny moments, works too long and too hard for a message as obvious as this one delivers. Stop selling yourself short; learn to value yourself. What is this – a Tyler Perry movie?
But in the hands of writer-director Leslye Headland, who adapted from her own play, “Bachelorette” is an up-all-night adventure that starts at an abortive bachelorette party for bride-to-be Becky (Rebel Wilson), thrown by her BFFs Regan (Kirsten Dunst), Gena (Lizzy Caplan) and Katie (Isla Fisher). Instead partying (or just partying), the bride’s pals go scrambling out into Manhattan after dark, in desperate need of a sewing miracle.
But they’re all also dealing with personal issues, beyond the fact that Becky – the chubby one whose nickname in high school was “Pig Face” – is the first of them to get married. And each sorts out her issue – sort of – in the course of a night that brings them into alignment with men who incite and excite them.
Headland’s characters dash from crisis to crisis, all in service to the film’s central problem: After Becky angrily cancels the bachelorette party mid-male-stripper (he happens to call her “Pig Face”) and stalks angrily out, her friends accidentally rip her bridal gown. So it’s up to Regan (the Type-A pal with a fearful assistant) to sort things out, in the same way she put the whole wedding together, in her role as maid of honor.
This review continues on my website.