Directed by Paul Feig
Annie (Kristin Wiig, who co-wrote the script) is absolutely clueless about most of the things in her life and is particularly bad at relating to other people. She is completely deluded about her relationship with cad extraordinaire (Jon Hamm) – even though their marathon sex scene has been a hit on You Tube. She alienates the customers at work with her cynical take on relationships, and things get even worse when she consumes alcohol. When her best friend from childhood Lillian (Maya Rudolph) becomes engaged and asks her to be the head bridesmaid, she clashes with Lillian’s new friend, the perfect trophy wife Helen (Rose Byrne), and the results are not pretty.
Apart from being a romantic comedy where Annie has to wake up to herself about the totally useless choices she is making with her life in order to be carried off by the gorgeous guy a sweet police officer played by Irish comedian Chris O’Dowd), this film is disgustingly funny. Annie continually lowers the bar to hitting rock bottom and spirals out of control, managing to bring a lot of people down with her. If the film had centred on a group of guys, it would have just another so-what gross-out comedy, but the sight of beautiful women in ridiculously expensive bridal gowns farting, vomiting over each other and defecating in inappropriate places is rather hilarious.
Annie is so used to be treated badly she is not even match for her flat-mates (Little Britain’s Matt Lucas and Australian comedian Rebel Wilson). As for Rose Byrne, she can’t help but be exquisite, even as the cracks appear in her perfect character. Annie is matched in the clueless department by sister of the groom, Megan (Melissa Mcarthy) who shows how things can be done with a water-tight self esteem.
Lezly Herbert
***
