Bachelorette (2012)
Starring Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, Rebel Wilson, James Marsden, Kyle Bornheimer, and Adam Scott
Directed by Leslye Headland
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
Whereas the characters in Bridesmaids were in their mid-thirties and genuinely excited about their best friend's wedding, the late twentysomethings in Bachelorette who were friends in high school look at the upcoming nuptials of Becky (Rebel Wilson) with disdain. Becky was always the fourth wheel in the group known as "The B Faces," and it doesn't sit well that "the fat one" in the quartet is the first one to get married. Regan (Kirsten Dunst), like Becky, lives in New York City and has kept in touch with the soon-to-be-bride more than the rest of the group, so she gets the role of Maid of Honor. Outwardly showing enthusiasm, Regan's ice queen, bitchy demeanor comes out right away as she calls her fellow "B Faces" Gena (Lizzy Caplan) and Katie (Isla Fisher) to tell them the news. As the group convenes for the wedding weekend, they begin to realize that they haven't changed all that much since high school...and maybe that's not such a good thing. Katie's still a crazy bed-hopping party girl, Gena's cocaine snorting is still a commonplace occurrence, and Regan's bulimic tendencies still rear their ugly head at times. None of these girls are the epitome of perfection and there are moments where they're all incredibly nasty to one another, but they're still friends despite their sometimes warped view of what being "friends" actually means. They have a shared history that continues to bring them close together and, as time has passed, they begin to wonder whether it's maybe time that they all begin to grow up a little bit.
This isn't to say that Bachelorette ends on a sensitive up-with-people note. These characters aren't "changed" in miraculous ways by seeing their child-like mannerisms. Instead, the movie concludes with them simply glimpsing the fact that it's likely time they try to turn into adults as they head into their third decade and maybe Becky's wedding is the impetus to getting that ball rolling. Kirsten Dunst and Lizzy Caplan succeed the best at coming to this realization for their characters. Both Dunst and Caplan are given nice arcs and they surprised me by making me give a damn about their rather loathsome characters by the end of the film. I don't watch Girls on HBO, but I imagine that the reason it's buzzed about (I refuse to say successful because less than two million people watch it per episode and yet it's praised like it's a huge hit) is that it showcases twentysomething women in a light that typically isn't shone on them. That's definitely the case here and Dunst and Caplan are able to imbue their characters with enough depth to make the film overall a success.
That isn't to say that Ms. Headland's script gives adequate dimensionality to all characters. Isla Fisher's Katie is decidedly one-note in her party hard attitude and Rebel Wilson's Becky is simply like every other character Wilson has played before meaning she'll make fun of her weight and then act "funny-cute" followed by being "funny-tough." (Seriously, I just do not get the fawning over her, although I will say Wilson comes off surprisingly good here, it's just that she isn't adding anything new to her repertoire.) Each lady also has a guy that she hooks up with the night before the wedding and only Adam Scott's Clyde as Gena's high school boyfriend is given anything to work with, but the story isn't really about the men, so I feel like this isn't as much of a letdown.
Qualms aside, however, Bachelorette is a really good film. It's surprisingly funny, mining laughs from not only pop culture references that are perfect for my age bracket (ie. the age bracket depicted in the film), but also very naturally from the characters themselves. Thanks to some nice performances from Kirsten Dunst and Lizzy Caplan and a solid (though not perfect) script, this one is absolutely one of the better comedies to come out of 2012...and it's streaming on Netflix...so watch it.
The RyMickey Rating: B+
My only exposure from this is my go to reviewer giving this 0 stars. Something he gives out very rarely. I think he has less 0 stars than 4/4 stars.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=2513
Ouch. Obviously, I strongly disagree with that review. Yes, all the characters are kind of assholes, but I don't see how it's any different from the a-holes in The Hangover which that reviewer gives three stars.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don't necessarily know anyone like the characters in this movie, I can totally see that this is how late-twentysomething former high school "bitches" (that's the name they gave themselves in this movie) would react at the wedding of their least cool member of their clique.
It's not a perfect film, but I found it enjoyable despite its flaws. A zero is simply ridiculous, in my opinion.