The word out on "Bridesmaids" is that it's a successful port of the Judd Apatow-style bromantic comedy to the chick-flick platform. That's partly true: The coarse humor, the emphasis on how people act when members of the opposite sex aren't around and the emotional honesty that's lurking behind all the fart and fellatio jokes are all straight out of the Apatow playbook. (No surprise, given he's one of the film's producers.)
But a better description might be that "Bridesmaids" is the comedy version of Mike Leigh's "Another Year." That film featured Lesley Manville playing a fortysomething office lady with fading beauty and a history of bad relationships, and who's desperate to land a man. That also describes to a tee the heroine in "Bridesmaids," Annie — played by "Saturday Night Live" comedienne Kristen Wiig. Her boyfriend has left her, her bakery business has gone under, her mom (Jill Clayburgh) is neurotic, her roommates (Rebel Wilson and egg-man Matt Lucas) are invasive pests, and she's stuck in a going-nowhere relationship with a sex-only hookup (Jon Hamm).
At least she has her trusted friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) to confide in; that is, until Lillian tells her that she's getting married to her sweetheart and moving out of town. "I'm so happy for you!" insists Annie, but her face says something different.