Judging by its plot you may think Bachelorette is a complete rip off of Bridesmaids. On the contrary, it is actually ten times better than the latter. Bachelorette actually has much more to say about female friendship and relationships than Bridesmaids did. While Bridesmaids went for the easy (albeit funny) raunchy humor....Bachelorette goes for the harder stuff. It goes for the heart and lands perfectly plump there. It is also an extremely funny film without ever going for the easy laughs.
The film stars Isla Fisher, Kirsten Dunst and Lizzy Caplan as Katie, Regan and Gena...three drugged out friends who are asked to be bridesmaids at Becky (Rebel Wilson)'s wedding. The problem with these three are that they can't act like normal human beings for more than a few seconds. Naturally-the night before the wedding, the three destroy a significant item for the wedding. I choose not to tell you what this item is because it is both surprising and funny how they destroy it. It then follows these three into a night of romance, self realization and hopefully being able to fix the thing they have so unbelievably destroyed. All four of these women are excellent...bringing something both likable and unlikable to each of their characters. They do a good job of making us root for all four of them even though they are far from perfect people.
Although this is a female-centered film the film also features four solid male performances to go with the four of the females. Katie's love interest-Joe (Kyle Bornheimer) is a sweet guy who also happens to be a pothead like her. However....Joe is smarter than her which leads to a scene by a pool between them that actually had me choked up. Regan is a hard ass who really has no love interest. However...she does hate Trevor (James Marsden). Gena is looking to get back at Clyde (Adam Scott)...a man who screwed her over in high school. Finally..Becky's fiancee Dale (Hayes MacArthur) just wants to be with her. Bornheimer, Marsden, Scott and MacArthur are always good. However...they are all usually good in a funny sense. Marsden is the only one who has done a complete non-comedy with last year's remake of Straw Dogs. With this being said...all four of these men are funny in this but also lend themselves to some surprisingly dramatic moments as well. MacArthur and Bornheimer worked together on She's Out Of My League from a few years ago. They played the two blockhead brothers of Jay Baruchel in that and I feel as if they should work together more often..they also bring out the best in each other.
One minor character I have not mentioned yet is Victoria-Becky's uptight, concerned mother. The character of Victoria is a foil in that she helps move the plot along even though she is barely in the film. The reason I am bringing this character up is because she is being played by the excellent Ann Dowd. Almost no one saw Dowd's stand out performance in Compliance. Dowd also brings a nice intensity to the movie she is in even if it's a comedy like Bachelorette.
Lastly-my favorite thing about Bachelorette is that it never gets too gooey. It is consistently touching without ever feeling sappy. As well...the self realization of these characters are not anything major. Rather...they discover what's really important in life rather than making a complete 360..Leslye Headland directs the film as well as adapts it from her play. Although Bachelorette does sometimes feel like a play...the film is too excellent for that to be an issue. Headland has made one of my favorite films of the year so far and is definitely a new director to look out for.
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for sexual content, pervasive language and drug use)
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