Bachelorette (2012)

Directed by: Leslye Headland | 94 minutes | comedy | Actors: Kirsten Dunst, Rebel Wilson, Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fisher, Paul Corning, Andrew Rannells, Anna Rose Hopkins, Sue Jean Kim, Horatio Sanz, Hayes MacArthur, Kyle Bornheimer, James Marsden, Ann Dowd, Adam Scott, Ella Rae Peck, Megan Neuringer, Leslie Meisel, Jenn Schatz

Three deranged, unstable bridesmaids and a whole lot of alcohol and drugs don’t seem like the ideal ingredients for a beautiful wedding, but bride Becky (Rebel Wilson) seems to give it a try in ‘Bachelorette’. In her film debut, which is based on her own play, director Leslye Headland tries to portray the contemporary young woman and all her perils. In her eyes, this woman is quite fickle and bipolar, qualities that are interpreted in a very comical way by the three archetypal main characters.

How Gena (Lizzy Caplan) is still alive at all is a mystery, because these cynical, indifferent fun-pants do everything God has forbidden and more. Katie (Isla Fisher) certainly doesn’t know what she’s doing, because besides partying just as hard as Gena, she’s also not the smartest. Regan (Kirsten Dunst), on the other hand, is an ambitious career woman who won’t settle for anything less than perfect. These three childhood friends are asked to be bridesmaids for their old schoolmate Becky’s wedding, something that can only go wrong. For starters, Regan is green with envy and has a hard time hiding it. The other two can’t keep their hands off the cocaine, even when Becky asks for a quiet bachelorette party. This ‘quiet’ evening results in the girls tearing the wedding dress, after which the attempt to fix it leads them into deeper and deeper trouble. As the clock ticks, the bridesmaids and the dress become entangled in a web of lies, deceit and bodily fluids and it is questionable whether they will ever get out of this…

Although ‘Bachelorette’ at first glance seems like a standard raunchy sex comedy, this film has something that others don’t. The gooey clichés that we know from many romantic women’s films are neatly kept to a minimum, and when these threaten to surface, they are quickly downplayed with a dose of sarcasm. The archetypes are of course exaggerated, but that’s what makes it so hilarious and also so recognizable, because that female contradiction is all too familiar to many of us. Angry Gena secretly turns out to be a romantic, nitwit Katie has more depth than she makes it seem and ice queen Regan has only a small heart. It’s great that Headland makes every character sympathetic, despite (or maybe because of?) the high degree of insanity. In addition, ‘Bachelorette’ miraculously never faints, the film is fun for both young people and adults and every minute is a joy for the laughter.