While 'Bachelorette' is likely to draw comparisons to last year's comedy hit 'Bridesmaids', they're two different beasts. Produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, 'Bachelorette' is much blacker and isn't afraid to offend by portraying openly messed-up female characters as the leads and inserting them in familiar comic scenarios.
The premise involves four high school friends Regan (Kirsten Dunst), Becky (the brilliant Australian actress Rebel Wilson), Gena (Lizzy Caplan) and Katie (Isla Fisher). The four girls – who were collectively known as the B –Faces as school – reunite for Becky's wedding. Despite the happy facade, they're a fractured group.
Regan is a cruel, controlling woman who's secretly upset that Becky got married before her; Gena uses sex to cover her problems, even explaining detailed sex acts to strangers and Katie – despite her outward craziness and love of partying - has elements of depression. Even Becky, who seems to be the most normal of the girls, is still dealing with the fallout of being teased at high school.
While the plot has been done a million times (and is similar to the Hangover movies), it's the coarseness of the characters which make this movie stand out. The girls are meant to be unlikeable and there's plenty of coarse language to illustrate that point. While the plot plays out conventionally, it doesn't drown in a sea of third act sentimentality for the sake of neatly wrapping up the loose ends. While things improve for the girls as the movie progresses, they're still the same mean girls they were at the start. It's also refreshing to see a movie with strong female characters. Probably the stand out is Rebel Wilson, having graduated from Australian sketch comedy shows to establish herself as the next great comedic actress.
If you're after a slightly darker take of the rom-com formula, 'Bachelorette' is worth a look.
