lll 1/2
Starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Chris O'Dowd, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Hamm, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Jill Clayburgh, Matt Lucas and Annie Mumolo. Directed by Paul Feig.
Kristen Wiig is in pretty much every sketch on Saturday Night Live, and she also finds time to take supporting roles in films like MacGruber and Paul. But now she gets to take center stage in a full-length movie, and she shows serious acting chops. She is more than a sum of sketches. It helps that she co-wrote the movie.
This has been called The Hangover for Women, but that oversimplifies. It's very funny, but there's a dark undercurrent to it, a layer of sadness as Annie (Wiig) has her life unravel while trying to be a good maid of honor for her best friend Lillian (SNL alum Rudolph).
The central conflict is with Helen, played by Rose Byrne (Insidious), a younger, richer, prettier friend Lillian's recently acquired, and Helen is also quite competitive. Annie and Helen has to keep the plastic smiles on for Lillian as they try to one-up each other, all while pretending that's not what they're doing.
Judd Apatow helped produce it, and it does feature some of the trademark gross-out humor. It could've easily trimmed ten minutes from its running time without losing anything, but I predict now that Wiig will get a Golden Globe nomination for her work here.
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