Bridesmaids, starring Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph

*Apologies for the delay on this getting up as host site issues caused it to disappear. I appreciate your patience!*

Chick flicks justifiably catch a lot of flack. They deserve it, if you ask me. For all the guff Hollywood gets for not providing enough strong portrayals of women, the simple truth is that women are never portrayed worse than they are in chick flicks. Your BrideWars', your Something Borrowed's, your Leap Year's, all paint women out to be scheming, materialistic, marriage obsessed, petty snots who will crush a lifelong friendship over the thinnest of reasons. If these movies are to be condemned for getting everything wrong, then equal praise has to be heaped upon them when a movie gets it exactly right. Bridesmaids does more than just give women their own comedy heroines to look up to, it's also the funniest movie you're probably going to see all year. Who the heck needs The Hangover 2? Move along, fellas!

After a career of memorable characters on SNL and scene stealing spots in other comedies, Kristen Wiig makes her true breakout as Annie, a woman who seems to always be under a dark cloud. She's unlucky in love, her ex-boyfriend left her after their bakery business went belly up. Now she's dating a callous jerk(Jon Hamm) she knows is awful for her but can't stop seeing him anyway because he's so cute. If there were a dude who had the opposite powers of Mel Gibson's in What Women Want, this would be him. With her business gone, her mother(the late Jill Clayburgh) gets her a crappy job at a jewelry store where she's forced to see happy folks all the time. Oh, and her roommates stink. Look up "misery" in the dictionary and there'd be a picture of poor ol' Annie. 

So when Lillian(Maya Rudolph), her longtime best friend, is suddenly engaged, Annie is a jumbled mess of emotions. She can barely hide the jealousy tinged with fear she's feeling, and yet she's also clearly happy for her friend. So happy that she makes the rash decision of being the maid of honor, without any idea what the gig actually entails. Namely a lot of time and money, two things Annie doesn't have. Enter the bridesmaids, and what a motley crew they are! I'll put them up against the "wolf pack" any day. Helen(Rose Byrne), Lillian's perfect, almost regal new BFF is a source of new headaches as she and Annie fight for attention. Becca(Ellie Kemper) a newlywed already facing marital woes, and Rita(Reno 911's Wendi McLendon-Covey) is a wife so defeated from marriage she has the look of a wartorn vet plastered on her face.

As great as all these women are, especially Byrne, there is really one big stand out and that's Melissa McCarthy as Megan. I'm trying to think of the best way to describe her. "Unhinged", maybe? Megan is a husky, overly aggressive brute with a heart of pure gold. In one instance you'll see her eyes light up at the idea of hiding a loading weapon in her butt, then a moment later melt at the site of beret wearing golden retriever pups. Megan may be all over the map, but McCarthy, who has been a remarkable supporting player for years, is fantastic in what's actually a really brave role. It requires her to be able to make fun of herself a little bit and go places I bet she never thought she'd go comedically. The bulk of the film's biggest laughs come from her and Wiig, and the two also share the film's most emotional scene.

Paul Feig directs, and his history of directing TV sitcoms is both a benefit and a hindrance. There are three our four really long, continuously hilarious sequences that could be little TV episodes all to themselves. The airplane scene alone is worth the price of admission. And then there are times when the pace drags and creaks until the next great setpiece. Most of these slow bits involve Annie's budding relationship with the only cop in the entire state of Wisconsin(Chris O'Dowd). But blaming Feig as a Judd Apatow knock off simply because Apatow serves as a producer is unfair. Apatow's knack for blending raunchy gross out humor with sensitive, adult topics is best emulated in the script by Wiig and Annie Mumolo. It's not necessarily a bad thing, either. I like that the film has some real emotional heft to it, and Annie's struggle to reconcile her own despair with her best friend's happiness feels sincere. Annie and Lillian's friendship is not a bond so easily broken.

Bridesmaids is the new standard bearer for R-rated comedy, and we're already starting to see copycat films pop up trying to latch on to it's bridal train. So ladies, snatch up those guys of yours who think this is just another gal power flick and buy them a ticket for the funniest movie of the year. Guaranteed they'll love it, too.

Trav's Tip: Kristen Wiig is a former member of The Groundlings, an improvisational sketch comedy troupe that counts fellow Bridesmaids co-stars Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Maya Rudolph as alumni.