Bridesmaids is not just a movie about women for women, it is a hilarious comedy that knocks the best of them out of the park and on their asses, thanks mainly to Kristen Wiig’s hilarious performance.

Annie (Wiig) recently split from her boyfriend, lost the bakery she opened due to the bad economy, and allows a rich jerk (played perfectly by Jon Hamm) to use her for sex. Needless to say, her life is a mess. So when Lillian (Maya Rudolph), her best friend since childhood, announces she’s getting married, Annie has an emotional meltdown and begins a downward spiral into hell.

Don’t be fooled by the overly melodramatic description. This is not some generic romcom about love, marriage, friendship, the meaning of life, and all that jazz. No, Bridesmaids is a straight-up raunchy and dirty comedy with very small elements of sweetness scattered about.

As mentioned above, the film works because of Wiig, who also wrote it along with Annie Mumolo. She’s proving to be one of the funniest women to come out of Saturday Night Live, and when she’s allowed to go off and do her thing, hilarity ensues (and kudos to director Paul Feig for not holding her back).

While Wiig carries it, it is Melissa McCarthy who steals the film. Her scenes got the most laughs from the audience, and even when she’s just standing around in the background she’s funny to watch. We left the theatre wanting to see her do more roles like this (we still can’t believe it’s the same woman who played Sookie on the Gilmore Girls).

The one downside to Bridesmaids is the length. At over two hours long it can be taxing at times, and some scenes do drag a little longer than they need to. We also found Rudolph’s talents to be wasted. She is definitely not the star and she downplays her comedic abilities to let Wiig be the focus. All in all though, Bridesmaids is one fun movie that is sure to become a comedy classic.

**** out of 5 stars