*ahem* MEGAN FOX NAKED MEGAN FOX NAKED MEGAN FOX NAKED! …Sorry, I have to do that for Google search purposes. I hope you understand. Anyway, after the jump I’ve got the trailer for Friends with Kids, the unofficial Bridesmaids reunion starring Kristin Wiig, Jon Hamm, Chris O’Dowd, and Maya Rudolph, with Adam Scott, Megan Fox, Ed Burns, and Jennifer Westfeldt (who also wrote and directs) along for the ride. The plot? “We’ve replaced their ‘Benefits’ with ‘Kids.’ Let’s see if anyone notices!”
Pooping Maya thinks a sequel would just be wrong.
Last week, Vincent brought us the news that Universal really loves money and hates leaving well enough alone, so studio executives decided that it’s time for a Bridesmaids sequel. There’s just one little problem with Universal’s plan – Kristen Wiig is all like, “No way, Jose” because she’s working on something else. Just kidding, though, because that’s not a problem. Not to Universal anyway, because Bridesmaids 2 Bride Harder Post Coital Boogaloo will probably be made whether Wiig wants to be on board or not.
Thankfully, the original film’s surprise star, Melissa McCarthy, would like Universal to know that this is a very stupid idea, according to an article posted over at E!.
“God, I wouldn’t want to,” McCarthy told me on Saturday at the Palms Springs International Film Festival gala. “I would never want to. I think it’s a terrible idea.”
McCarthy said she doesn’t know what the studio is planning.
“I don’t (know) anything about it,” she said. “But I know that nobody wants to do it unless it’s great. If it is, I will show up wherever those ladies are.”
Seeing as Bridesmaids grossed a ridiculous $288 million worldwide on a $32 million budget, a sequel will be made despite the best efforts of McCarthy, Wiig, her writing partner Annie Mumolo, director Paul Feig, or Jon Hamm’s dreamy ass. Universal execs just shouldn’t act all surprised when the sequel tanks and people like me call it one of the Worst Movies of the Year. And you can bet your ass I’ll be shaking my fist when I do it. That’s how serious I’ll be.
Bridesmaids earned $288 million on a $32 million budget this past year, long-overdue vindication for our decision to give women the right to vote. And when you make that much money on a comedy, people expect you to make a sequel. Hell, Mike Myers is still trying to make Austin Powers 4, and Austin Powers is older than my last three girlfriends. So what do you say, Kristin Wiig? Will we get Meet your Fockers someday?
The mystery is why Universal has made so little progress on launching a Bridesmaids 2 — and why the star of the film is refusing to do a reprise. “We aren’t working on that,” Wiig, who co-wrote the film with Annie Mumolo, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Annie and I aren’t planning a sequel. We are writing something else.”
With Wiig balking [my cousin went to juvie for Wiig balking -Ed.], Universal chief Ron Meyer took her to dinner in New York to see whether he could change her mind. He likely dangled an eight-figure payday before her, but the 38-year-old star held firm.
Yes, her not wanting to do a sequel is a mystery, alright. I bet when those studio execs smelled integrity, they all pointed at her and shrieked like body snatchers.
BUT WAIT! There must be a better explanation for this easily-explainable decision!
An Entirely Lovable Film I Didn’t Quite Love
Bridesmaids is a heartfelt, at times really funny film filled with talented, funny people, a film that isn’t a lot of fun to admit you didn’t love. It’s built mostly out of scenes that feel more like improv sandbox than narrative device (which isn’t a necessarily a bad thing, there are many funny moments within that, much like Stepbrothers). Only Bridesmaids has a more personal story to tell, an earnest take on friendship and modern marriage that at times gets lost in the more broad hijinks gags. It’s the rare case where the improv-premises-strung-together structure is frustrating not because the movie doesn’t have a point, but because it totally does! And it’s hard to make a point when you’re milking every improv opportunity until it lactates blood. They’re two great tastes that should go well together but don’t quite, like chocolate and Indian food, or strip clubs and buffets.
The “Hangover with chicks!” label definitely seems more like an angle the studio was willing to throw money at, the marketing department eager to exploit, than an idea actually driving the script. Whereas The Hangover was a hijinksy romp using the setting of a bachelor party as a jumping off point, Bridesmaids is a story about friendship and the absurdity of wedding etiquette. Which is to say, it’s actually about being a bridesmaid. If that sounds like a strength, it is. We follow Annie (Kristen Wiig, who co-wrote with fellow Groundling Annie Mumolo) as she juggles a crappy job and crappy relationships (notably playing late-night hook-up to the awesomely dickish Jon Hamm), all while dealing with the pressure of Maid-of-Honor duties bestowed upon her by childhood best friend Lilian (Maya Rudolph), who’s marrying Tim Heidecker for some reason (the fact that he never speaks is pretty funny on its own). That Annie can’t quite keep her sh*t together is fine when she and Lilian are just hanging out, drinking wine and reading tabloids, but when she has a gaggle of chicks (including her nemesis, Lilian’s perfect new best friend played by Rose Byrne) counting on her to plan all their societally-mandated fun, Annie’s haplessness starts to become a problem.
After the jump, you can watch the new trailer for Bridesmaids, aka The Hangover for Chicks, aka The Labia Hangover — the Judd Apatow-produced, Paul Feig directed, Kristen Wiig co-written wedding flick opening May 11th. I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about this one, and the new trailer (previous versions here and here) give us a nice juicy taste of Kristen Wiig in a bra and Jon Hamm shirtless. I don’t know which of those is sexier, and that’s not an insult to either party. I’d consider both chests a fine place to deposit my seed. What? Don’t look at me like that, you know you were thinking it too.
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