Bridesmaids' fabulous Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph
I think I may have been the last person in the Western World to have seen Bridesmaids. Naturally, I loved it. But something startled me a little bit. The women. Their faces. Their bodies. Laugh lines. Pigmentation. Freckles. Moles. It was bloody awesome but also a visual surprise. They weren’t 22. They weren’t even 35 but looking 22.
They looked like women in their 30s. And that was the surprise.
Because you just don’t see women looking like that. Not in most movies. As we left the cinema, I was talking with my girlfriend about Rose Byrne. “Was that Rose Byrne?” she exclaimed. “I didn’t realise that! She looks totally different when you see her in magazines.”
Yes she does. All women do. Because they’ve been digitally altered to look plastic. Fantastic? Nah. I think the women in Bridesmaids looked beautiful. DIFFERENT. Different to each other and different to the images we’re fed by the print media and by music videos and billboards and all the other places women are portrayed in ways that aren’t humanly possible.
And you know what? You know what I’m going to say to all those twits who say that “it’s what women want! they want the glamour and the perfection?”? I’m going to say bullshit.
Bridesmaids is one of the highest grossing films of the year. A smash hit. Women – and men but particularly women – are falling over each other to go see it. And then see it again.
Is it POSSIBLY because it portrays women as funny and real instead of fake and ‘perfect’?
Lana was listening to Sophie Monk being interviewed by Kyle and Jackie O this week and she told me that Sophie was saying she’d been offered $1m by Playboy to pose nude. ‘Are you worried about your body looking good?’ she was asked. “Oh no,” she replied. “They’ll just photoshop it all anyway, it doesn’t matter what my body looks like.”
And that, my friends, is the problem.
We’ve voted with our wallets. We’ve shown the world we will support a more realistic, authentic portrayal of women while we’ve massively reduced our consumption of magazines that depict women as fake plastic aliens.
Were you also surprised at how the women looked in Bridesmaids? Do you want to see more ‘real’ women portrayed in film? What did you think of the film generally?
Comments
137 Comments so far
I can beat you Mia… I haven’t seen Top Gun!
However I have seen Bridesmaid 3 times, twice with my husband who was laughing as much as me.
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Loved this film! To all of my friends who hadn’t seen the film I was giving it a highly recommended and touting it as the “Chicks version of The Hangover”
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Clearly, I’m out of touch.
I hated this movie. I thought it celebrated the worst of behaviour, and encouraged us to think of this as normal manners. I watched this with my teenage daughter, as part of a girly night, and we both wanted to walk out early but didn’t realise until afterwards that we both wanted to leave early.
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i just saw this movie and it was a YES moment for women – just as sex and the city was a YES moment (well a little longer). I watched this movie and thought it was not only funny, but there was a deeper message. Ive seen the will ferrell, adam sandler and ben stiller movies and i think they are very entertaining but never a comedy about women.And how good to see “the pretty girl” is not demonised but has a fully fledged, flawed character just like the rest of us. After seeing the absolutely outstanding comedic performance of melissa mccarthy in this movie I have to pause because I know she will never progress any further than a bit part. When you see the career of Kevin James (King of Queens, Hitch etc) you just know that we would never allow a woman of her size to progress any further as he has.You have never seen a film, or sitcom for that matter, where the female part is a plus size when the man is not, and yet there are so many when the reverse is true. Have you ever seen a movie where a plus siz lady is the lead? except when its a man pretending to be a woman?? ie big mommas house, mrs doubtfire.
Hollywood isnt real life but we all know it does reflect and can influence – here are a few thumbs up for one of the first attempts to show women as full characters – with all our flaws, sexual desires, and hilarious mishaps thrown in for laughs.
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I loved it, i thought it had such chick humour the kind you have when its you and the girls…I didnt take much notice of what they looked like, big fan of Kristen Wigg tho..SNL bless!
what I did notice it I didnt have any ‘A’ list actors and I think that is why it worked. Most of the actors are still working up the way the celebrity alphabet, they are little older, a little less cookie cutter thus relatable. Also helps the characters had jobs we can relate to and crappy car..
loved it hope they do some more movies – not over kill like SATC tho!
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And just when you thought you were the last person to see Bridesmaids… I STILL haven’t seen it yet. And after hearing about how real they are, I’m even more keen. Off to the movies this week (Gosh, is it still showing?)
And yes. I’ve stopped buying girlie magazines because I refuse to support all that digitial editing. Over it. SO over it.
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I thought that myself and a few close girlfriends might have been the last to see” Bridesmaids”. We only saw it last week July 22. We all had heard so much about it, how it was so , so funny. But what i noticed, too, were the women’s great faces on the big screen. No soft focus or flattering lighting(maybe just a little bit), their faces were there for all to see, lines, minor blemishes,freckles, and they looked , well,natural and still beautiful ..
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I can see your point, Mia, but I disagree that there was a true positive body image message in this film. Why? Because every overweight person in the film had revolting mannerisms. The cousin who had no decorum who was constantly stuffing her face. The flatmates who were putrid, and unbelievably stupid and selfish. Basically fat people were overwhelmingly portrayed as losers.
That’s not a very positive message now, is it?
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Megan was by far the most together character in the movie!
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When she wasn’t burping, farting, touching herself, and generally being inappropriate.
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I think that the whole point was to derobe the stereotype – through most of the film she was portrayed in the ‘typical’ way as you have pointed out, but the end showed that she was, in fact, the one who was most ‘together’ and challenged the audience to reconsider how they box or make assumptions about people with certain body types or mannerisms.
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i loved it and so did my husband mainly because he is a big SNL fan. My 16 and 21year old sons also watched it and commented that the movie was funny because it didnt have the Jennifer Anison and Cameron Diaz type actresses in it.
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I looked at Kirsten Wiig’s character in that film and reflected that she was what I thought an older Meg Ryan (circa 1990s) might have looked like. My preference is for Kirsten Wiig’s natural beauty.
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I adored the movie, but not because of what the women looked like … more because of how well the film portrayed relationships between females. There were SO many moments in that movie when I thought they had completely nailed an interaction or situation that I had been in, or a bad vibe that I’ve gotten when meeting an old friend’s new friend. It also completely pinpointed the way that women judge each other and are constantly competing with each other like Rose Byrne and Kristen Wiig’s characters.
It was brilliantly written, and so many times I found myself thinking “Oh god, that is exactly what happens!”. That’s what I loved!
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During the movie I kept thinking why do they look weird? And then it hit me, because they didn’t! That’s what normal people in real life look like!
Such a good movie with actual funny women, instead of actresses just saying funny lines. Very refreshing. I loved it!
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The film was fab – real ‘ladette’ humour (and that’s mine I must say!). And yes, it’s funny I couldn’t really put my finger of the realness of the characters at first and then I realised how true to life they actually looked on screen. Its frightening isn’t it, how we have come to expect perfection? I love the non perfection, non touch-up look – less pressure on us all too!
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I only saw the movie last Friday and was also surprised by how naturally beautiful the characters all looked. Bring it on more often I say. I hadn’t been to the movies in 4 yrs so it was a great night out. Surprised at the cost of movies tickets but thats another story.
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I saw Bridesmaids THREE TIMES.
I’m sure that’s not healthy.
The third person I went with asked me why I was so obsessed.
Mia’s observations about the physical “realness” definitely played a part. There was this aura of beautiful reality throughout the whole film.
There was some pretty amazing acting as well.
But what I told my friend was, for me to get this excited about a film, it has to be:
1) bloody funny
2) bloody clever
3) unflinchingly honest
3 filled with genuine, “good values.”
Obviously, this film had all those in spades. And now that I think about it, I don’t actually think I’ve ever loved a film so much – and that’s because all three of those elements were seamlessly intertwined.
There have been films about female friendships and female self discovery before, but none of them were as unafraid as Bridesmaids.
It put the materialist hysteria that invades wedding planning into uproarious perspective.
It reminds us how easy it is to wallow in self-pity and how lucky we are when a close friend is brave enough to tell us, “toughen up, princess.”
The only small regret I had from the movie regarded the relationship between the newly wed, mousy girl, and the jaded, blonde mother of swearing kids.
For me, the funniest part of the film was the slide into extreme drunkenness of the young one and her slurring praise of the blonde one.
And when they kissed! Totally unexpected! I thought to myself, “Yay! They can find happiness together.”
But, as brave as the rest of the film was, it only gave the slightest nod to any relationship they might have had after the plane kiss.
But that is my only quibble with the film.
As for the Irish Cop: I will fight anyone who says he is not the absolute best leading man in any film ever! OK – maybe not *fight*… but I’ll argue
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“the last woman in the western world to see the movie….” sorry Mia, that dubious honour would go to me
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The women looked great! I definitely loved that they were funny and real. I loved how less ‘glossy’ this movie was as a whole. I love that she had a run down car, even the streets, houses etc seemed less perfect. So much easier to relate to!
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I literally have just come home from seeing this movie tonight, and I have to say I am still smiling and shaking my head at the same time! it was fantastic and I loved that they weren’t Hollywood plastic.. I am going to have to see it again!… but before that I need to go find a cute highway cop….
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I loved Bridesmaids. I think the previews showed too much of the movie, but I laughed out loud anyway. I remember thinking that I hadn’t really seen Kristen Wiig ‘up close’ before, and was surprised to see she had laugh lines and wrinkles and stuff. She looks great though, it was refreshing to see women who had not been cosmetically altered. And she does what any woman should do instead of surgery- show off her assets, those being her legs! Wish mine looked like that!!
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i dont think this movie did well because of what the women looked like. it did well because it was funny. i dont think the 2 are linked really. pretty flimsy connection there mia.
speaking of moles, i couldnt help staring at the police officer’s mole on his neck. he should get that seen to!
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What mole? Please tell me you’re an oncologist and that’s why you care!
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Didn’t go crazy over this movie. It was funny, but I’ve laughed a lot more at a lot of other movies.
Two things did bother me: Kristen Wiig’s hair was so perfect in every scene. Whose hair looks that good all the time? Also, the previews really gave away too much. All the parts of the film that made people laugh in the cinema weren’t funny to me anymore after seeing the previews a few times.
However, I think Jon Hamm was hilarious – he wasn’t in the previews and wasn’t even credited! I heart Jon Hamm. Swoon!
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I went to see this movie with my sister (the bride to be) & her fellow bridemaids on my first night off from my little girls in over 14 mths & it was worth every minute. I can’t remember the last time I laughed out loud in a cinema, but even better than the humour was being able to imagine these characters as your friends, rather than feeling like they were out of my league. I especially loved the scene in the jeweller right before Annie was fired. And I never thought I would ever laugh at that word!!
I did notice that these women didn’t look plastic & thought how refreshing it was to see real women in their 30s.
Loved loved loved it!!
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Totally agree, I think I was the only one in the cinema who gave a loud snorting laugh when she dropped the ‘C’ word. I also commented to my friend afterwards that one of the best things about the movie was that the women were real, with real wrinkles and blemishes etc. A ‘feel good’ movie in more ways than one.
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Yes I loved this about bridesmaids too! It was refreshing to be able to relate rather than compare (e.g. Rosie Huntington [who is gorgeous] in transformers)..you get the drift. I think I found the same thing with Natalie Portmans movie, No Strings Attached..the characters seemed ‘real’.
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yes, exactly right. ANd when I’m watching movies or shows that are full of women who are botoxed, cut and stretched, I just can’t ignore it. Like watching Meg Ryan lately, or Courtney Cox. It’s not just that their faces don’t move, but that they look like Rubbery Figures puppets. And it makes their whole performance look fake and self-conscious.
Maybe the whole photo-shopping thing is one of those dynamics where the creators take the trend as far as it can go until the whole thing snaps and we sproing pretty much back to where we started. The only bad thing about that is that when it’s more minor photoshopping and face-changing/perfecting, it’s less blatantly different from normal and we think those people really are that gorgeous, rather than easily being able to discount it as makeup and digital alteration. So maybe the extremes are good. I don’t actually want to look like Courtney Cox in any way, but looking like some other, less weirded-up people does bring out the sense of not being so great in comparison.
My favourite thing is when more “normal” beauties are cast and they just blow you away in a non-Barbie kind of way, almost because of their imperfections rather than despite them. I think we’re on the swing back to that. But it will always go back and forth
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Sophie Monk is right. If her nude pics aren’t what the publisher wants, then the pics can be photoshopped to “look good”.
Pity that they can’t photoshop acting ability, eh, Soph ? Another one who got where she is by being relatively good looking.
You make Pia Zadora look like Sarah Bernhardt !
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Well to be fair she’s a singer first.
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I think you’ve hit the nail on the head Mia… I’ve just walked out of the cinema today with happy tears streaming out of my head.
You’re right… these are ‘normal’ women and I think that’s why I loved it so much. The whole movie reminded me of me and my friends.
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That’s exactly what I thought when I saw the movie! How great to see a mixture of different faces, colours, shapes and sizes.
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I loved this film but I hadnt really thought about what they had looked like – until now – & your right they all look like real people. I dont think I noticed during the film because I was just so into it, it was totally funny & refreshing, I laughed like I hadnt laughed in a cinema in years. Also so nice not to have Jen Aniston or Cameron Diaz in it, I have nothing against either girl but it seems that nearly every film must contain either actress..
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I LOVED it! I thought Maya (the bride) was just beautiful and so real. The whole cast was superb and I could not get over the laughter in the cinema. I havent been to a movie that gets that many laughs from so many women in ages. (Loved the cop too, so cute and loved that he was not your average hollywood hunk)
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My almost 3 year old daughter saw an ad for makeup on the TV the other day. She asked me “Mum, is that a real lady or a pretend lady?”. At such a young age they know the difference between authentic or fake so why does the lie continue? I certainly want to see the real person so does my daughter.
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I always think it’s interesting when I notice women with wrinkles etc in movies. It makes me realise how much I have gotten used to seeing botoxed faces etc!
I would like to see more real women portrayed in american films. I think it’s worth pointing out that the “unreal” woman phenomenon is particular only to hollywood films. Foreign films (eg. french and italian films) always show real women – and they look BEAUTIFUL!!
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What movies are you watching? The only movie I’ve watched in the past year that featured a plastic fantastic woman was a (brilliant) doco on Joan Rivers.
The actresses I’ve watched in film and on TV in the last year all looked natural, and often far from glamorous. Melissa Leo, Catherine Keener, Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, Laura Linney, Toni Collette, Emma Stone, Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Patricia Clarkson, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham-Carter, Jennifer Lawrence, Tina Fey, Kate Winslet, Ellen Page, Rachael Taylor, Sophie Lowe, Sally Hawkins, Carey Mulligan, Charlotte Rampling, Margo Martindale, Rachel Griffiths, Emily Watson, Marion Collitard, Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert… I haven’t seen it, but even the Sex & The City women seem to be aging naturally.
There’s a reason why Nicole Kidman’s, Meg Ryan’s and Demi Moore’s plastic surgery receive’s so much attention. It’s actually quite rare to find a successful actress who has had noticeable work done.
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I think we are all watching the movies at the box office….
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Kim Cattral is about to turn 55. If you believe she’s had no work done then you must also believe there’s a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow! haha
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Sorry, that was me ^^
I hit Save accidently
What happened to the edit/delete function on posts?
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Rose Byrne is as gorgeous on film as in magazines. I’m sure she gets photoshopped (as does everyone) but did your friend really not recongnise her just because of some photos? They must have been old photos.
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I was just thinking the same thing. I thought Rose Byrne looked even more like she does in photoshoots in this movie than she does in Damages. Her character was supposed to be ‘perfect’ til the final scenes.
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It’s funny, but that didn’t even occur to me until you mentioned it. I know that I loved the characters in Bridesmaids, because I could really relate to them. They were real, relatable, fleshed out characters. And I guess the fact that they looked real as well added to their relatability, even though I was not astute enough to pick up on it. Oh, and I have a total girl crush on Kristen Wiig. I think she is one of the most funniest people in movies, and she’s my favourite SNL cast member.
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Loved the movie and LOVED that the actresses looked like people. It made it much more believable to me, like they could be me and my best friend being dicks in a coffee shop. And you know there is not one woman in that film who I did not think was gorgeous exactly as they were – and not in a “oh they look good for their age” way but they looked damn good foll stop! Well done producers!
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My boyfriend and I had that exact conversation when the movie was over. How real and normal everybody looked. Crows feet and freckles! And normal teeth! I had to drag him to see it with me and then we both ended up laughing hysterically the whole time. Love love loved the movie!
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Such a great film. I want to see bridesmaid again perhaps on DVD, because everyone was laughing so much, I missed out on what they were saying!
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I loved this movie and saw it with my two bridesmaids. Can I just say that I have never been a HUGE fan of Rose Byrne but this movie changed my mind! I loved her in Bridesmaids and thought that she looked gorgeous! Also I loved the way the women acted with each other during the breakast scene. Best friends do that stuff (spinach in the teeth) all the time! It was so natural! Also love the part when the bigger lady was driving down the freeway with all of the puppies! LMAO!
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The breakfast scene was great! I think you could tell that Kristen and Maya are good friends IRL.
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Woohoo! You bloody tell ‘em Mia!
I haven’t seen Bridesmaids yet (must escape from toddler and preschooler!), but I’m looking forward to seeing it – even more so now that I’ve read this.
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I agree that it was wonderful to see some diverse women on screen. I do have a quibble, however, with the way that Melissa McCarthy’s character was the butt of fat jokes (oh a fat chick feels sexual attraction, isn’t that hilarious, no man could possibly be attracted to her, LOL).
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It’s funny how different people can interpret the same situation in completely different ways, isn’t it? I actually saw that character as really liberated and confident, and certainly not the butt of a joke (though there’s no doubt she was funny!). I think many of the same scenarios would have been equally funny with a slimmer actress but it was great to see a fuller-figured character so comfortable in her skin and her sexuality!
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yeah i think they played on that (the expectation was that she would be the butt of the joke) but then twisted it. she revealed she had been teased and she’d just hardened up, achieved highly, made sh*tloads of money, and was totally comfortable in her own skin.
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Oh yes, I loved that scene ‘ you’re the problem and you’re the solution’. It was very inspirational!
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Tick I agree! She knew she was hot and that Air Marshall Federal Agent certainly got the message!
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The actor who played the Air Marshall is Melissa McCarthy’s real-life husband
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This is my fav movie of the year! i looooooooooooooooooooved it for so many resasons – mainly because it is so damned funny. and ‘real’. i love that they look like real people.
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I loved this movie! All of the cast were funny.
Funniest scene was in the bridal shop, the while cinema was laughing. So gross but yet so funny!
And I loved that the bride wasn’t a barbie doll yet still looked beautiful. Saturday Night Live definitely churns out some great talent!
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Probably one of the funniest films I’ve seen in a LONG time (I reviewed it on my tumblr – moniquefischle.tumblr.com if you want to check it out).
And it’s exactly the kind of humour that women possess (AKA poo = very funny)
I loved the way they all looked, natural, beautiful and not afraid to be their age (why be ashamed of something so natural as your age?)
I just love the movie so very much!
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Oh yeah, especially Melisa McCarthy’s character. Very funny and removed from your average female comedy character.
Also, the mother of three boys character (sorry can’t remember name) when someone suggested ‘You musn’t have much sex then’ and she replies with ‘Sure, but he hasn’t kissed me for five years.’ Totally relateable! (Oh how I was ohhhing and ahhhing over Patrick and Nina’s kissing last night…..)
Agree that Kirstin Wiig was totally too thin. She must look skeletal in real life.
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So with you on Patrick and Nina, my knees are still weak.
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I agree! There is something about the way they kiss, it’s really beautiful but also sexy. It’s been a long time since an onscreen romance has captured me as much as Nina and Patrick’s
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Agreed! And I only started watching last week…
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It was so refreshing to see a movie where the women were running the show. And I don’t mean that from an overly feminist, man hating way. I mean that more and more we’re seeing men being the funny characters, and female characters are only funny when they’re ditzy (legally blonde) or the target of the joke.
Here were a group of women who weren’t afraid to not look hot at all times. They were throwing up all over each other and in so many situations that you would never usually find female characters.
I loved it because, as a comedic performer myself, it can be so hard to be as slapstick or clever as these women because it doesn’t receive the same reception as males do.
I absolutely loved watching hilarious, normal looking women make such a wonderful and refreshing film. Let’s hope it starts a trend!
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How is that a man hating thing to say? We hardly see movies where women are depicting as capable enough of providing comedy instead of the “stunning” love interest of the funny male character. Also, please refrain from equating man hating with feminism. This is a tired, hysterical, accusation of feminist theory and thought. Feminism is about supporting women, and you don’t have to be anti man to be pro woman.
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Feminism’s also about men and women ‘working’ together (not disenfranchising or segmenting either sex) so as to bring about equality for all on an even field. That encapsulates reducing socially-imposed gender bias, beliefs and cultural norms – see the other Mamamia article today about sexism and Stay-At-Home Dads – an insight into social prejudice in another form:
http://www.mamamia.com.au/parenting/house-husbands-selfless-white-knights-or-unemployed-schleps/
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One of my absolute favourite things about that movie was the wrinkles! Foreheads that moved! Eyes that crinkled! Faces that showed expression! A bride who wasn’t painfully thin! And jokes about farts, sex, food in your teeth, frenemies. Perfect!
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I loved this movie. It’s realistic because of the women and the acting.
DON’T LOOK AT ME!!!
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It’s coming out of me like LAVA!!!
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Husband and I went to see this on the weekend. We both cracked up and loved it. We didn’t even think about the bodies or wrinkles or makeup – it was just a plain good laugh. Loved it and want to see more. Seriously love the Wilson Philips song – oh how i played that loud on my yellow walkman over and over again.
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I have been singing that song non stop since!
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I especially loved the “air drums”!!
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My girlfriend and I said the exact same thing. They were real. I could relate to the spinach in the teeth scene because that’s something stupid we would do and they had *shock horror* lines on their faces, just like we do. Agree 100% Mia.
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I liked this movie but thought it was very overrated. It was not nearly as funny as I thought it would be. It is good to see real women looking like real women but some of the scenes were just plain stupid. The flatmates contributed nothing to the film at all. Hate to praise the blokes on this site but The Hangover 1 and 2 were both alot funnier.
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I disagree with your comment about the flatmates – not only did they add to the whole comedic element of the movie, but they also contributed to the storyline of the main character’s shitty life. And how it got even shittier when they kicked her out.
I loved this movie so much that I saw it twice in as many days. I haven’t done that since Xanadu came out in the 80s.
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I loved Hangover but Hangover 2 was the EXACT same movie! Even the sequence of scenes were the SAME. I was disappointed. It was still funny, but part of the reason I liked the first one was because it was a) hilarious, and b) it was cool the way they showed male friendship, they all seemed to be good mates and really love each other. In the second movie it was just like they were doing it all out of an obligation to try and get the same success rather than having another fresh and original movie to give. Or at least something with the exact same qualities and basic story that was shot in a different way..
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I didn’t like the Hangover much. Sure, it was amusing but it was mostly “bro” jokes, and had a bros before hoes mentality. Finally, it’s great to see a comedy centered around women. Why must it even be compared to the Hangover anyway?
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Probably because the Hangover was a recent movie that was widely regarded as hilarious and popular just like Bridesmaids is, in addition they share the theme of the wedding and hens/bucks activities. Many parallels.
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OMG Melissa I’m so freaking glad you said that.
They are the same damn movie! I walked out and was like, will I get shot if I say I didn’t totally love it?
Different country, same Sh#t!
Now I don’t feel alone in the world!
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Ha ha yeah everyone I have said that to has been all ‘but it was hilarious! it’s supposed to be the same it’s a sequel!’
It was the exact same series of events and sequences of shots in the movie, madness!
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