[Spoiler alerts]
I know you queens like to bitch and moan when you see brides-to-be in our bars but after watching Bachelorette you’ll wish that every bachelorette party you stumble across on a Saturday night in Midtown starred Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher and Lizzy Caplan.
Think Bridesmaids (complete with cheesy 90s song) on an 8-ball of cocaine. Think Hangover with three bad-ass bitches. Think Mean Girls. . . okay you get the point- Bachelorette is seriously funny.
The film follows Regan (Dunst), Katie (Fisher) and Gena (Caplan), who, while known as the “B-Faces” in high school, are now facing life as 30-somethings still waiting on the unfulfilled promises of their high school potential. They reunite for the nuptials of friend Becky (Rebel Wilson), the one of their group everyone expected to be the last to make a trip down the aisle.
Regan, the group’s Type-A whose best laid plans in life include already selecting her wedding dress and dating a no-show med student, have amounted to being Becky’s maid of honor. With a blatant disregard for the help (she nicknames the Asian wedding planner ‘Chinatown’), Dunst shines as the friend who’ll bitch behind your back but ultimately will have it when push comes to shove . . . even if she’s getting pounded in the bathroom of a sleazy strip club.
When Katie and Gena try to throw Becky a true bachelorette party complete with booze, a “freelance stripper” (played by The New Normal’s Andrew Rannells) and drugs, the plan goes terribly awry when Rannells utters Becky’s high school nickname “Pigface” while grinding his brief-clad ass in her face.
At this point, the girls’ disparate personalities (and life choices) are highlighted by Katie and Gena’s inability to shrug off their partying lifestyle, opting for a string of one-night stands and drugs in their day-to-day existence. Sound sad? Well maybe if it were real life but this is Hollywood and comedy gold. Fisher, who you may remember from Confessions of a Shopaholic, steals scenes throughout the entire film.
After Becky admonishes her friends to act normal or don’t bother to show up to the wedding, the girls take it as a chance to continue boozing and snorting the night away. You know when they decide to pull out Becky’s dress and squeeze two of them into it for a Facebook photo, trouble is going to follow. Ladies, there’s a reason Cinderella had to be home by midnight because nothing good happens in the wee hours of the morning . . . especially with champagne and cocaine.
After they split the dress, they must race off into the night in order to fix their mistake. With just hours to replace or fix Becky’s dress, a wonderful My So-Called Life reference, a strip club and drama follows. Ultimately the girls realize just how shitty each one of their lives really is and how shitty they’ve been to Becky.
Prior to Bridesmaids, R-rated comedies featuring female casts were basically unheard of at theaters. While studios are still figuring out how to successfully market females and R-rated behavior, here’s one word of advice: don’t try to pit them against each other. This weekend both Bachelorette and For a Good Time, Call . . . are opening in Atlanta. While both are funny, if you have to choose, Bachelorette will leave you wanting to have a bridal shower (and put on a dress) just so you can invite Dunst, Fisher and Caplan.
Bachelorette opens in limited release at AMC Parkway Pointe Friday September 7th
