Bridesmaids + More Raunch - Tender Story = Bachelorette

DVD Release Date: March 19, 2013
Theatrical Release Date: September 7 (limited), also available for download on iTunes, Amazon and OnDemand
Rating: R (sexual content, pervasive language and drug use)
Genre: Comedy
Run Time: 91 min.
Director: Leslye Headland
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, Rebel Wilson, Paul Corning, James Marsden, Horatio Sanz, Adam Scott

When it comes to movies, lightning rarely strikes in the same place twice.

But considering Hollywood’s seemingly incurable case of copycat fever and the unexpected box office success of 2011's Bridesmaids, it’s really no surprise that even the downright horrible Bachelorette was given the green light. After all, since it involves an appealing-enough cast, weddings, and raunchy pre-matrimonial hi-jinx that push it into The Hangover territory, it’s a surefire crowd-pleaser, right?

Already proving to be something of a low-budget wonder, Bachelorette has achieved hit status on iTunes, Amazon and OnDemand before even making its way to theaters this weekend. But as everything from Transformers to recent Nicholas Cage movies to last week’s box office champ The Possession has taught us, just because something’s popular doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good.

And that statement definitely applies to Bachelorette.

Unlike Bridesmaids where the shameless, gross-out humor was at least accompanied by a story with a genuine human connection, Bachelorette is nothing but an hour-and-a-half of insufferable characters engaging in thoroughly insufferable behavior.

In fact, one can’t help wondering why poor Becky (Bridesmaids scene-stealer Rebel Wilson) is so utterly clueless. No one with an ounce of self respect would ask Regan (Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia), Gena (Lizzy Caplan, Cloverfield) and Katie (Isla Fisher, Definitely, Maybe) to be in her bridal party—especially after what Becky (a.k.a. Pig Face) has endured. Not only were the girls (calling them ladies just doesn’t feel right) downright horrible to her in high school, but they continue to talk about her behind her back, mostly taking sophomoric jabs at her weight.

Whatever the reason Becky has recruited these hideous creatures to stand by her side on her big day, the audience isn’t given any choice but to roll with it. Taking control in true Type-A fashion, Regan eventually steps up as the Maid of Honor, despite feeling a little depressed about Becky’s engagement since she was supposed to be the first of her friends getting married. Attempting to rise above it, something she rarely succeeds at, Regan is determined to usher Becky into married life with style.

Trouble is, Becky wants nothing more than a low-key bachelorette party. Even the requisite stripper’s time is cut short when Becky’s mom announces that it’s time for her daughter to get her beauty sleep. Of course her bridesmaids don’t plan on turning in any time soon, and it’s their pursuit of a good time that ends up consuming the rest of the film’s running time.

For these late twenty-somethings, a "successful night out" apparently involves ruining the bride’s dress when they decide that two of them can probably fit in it, overdosing on Xanax, vomiting and sleeping with whatever random guys they encounter. And when the story lags, as it does frequently, that’s nothing a little lewd dialogue can’t fix, naturally.

Bachelorette not only lacks originality but anything resembling good taste. How the filmmakers persuaded these actresses to sign on for this drivel is not only a head-scratcher but a case study on just how low modern cinema is willing to go for a quick buck.

CAUTIONS:

• Drugs/Alcohol: Social drinking and public drunkenness depicted throughout. Cocaine and marijuana are also used by the girls in several scenes. Katie is found unconscious on the hotel bathroom’s floor after a Xanax overdose.
• Language/Profanity: Crude language and profanity are abundant with fu-- being the expletive of choice. God’s name is also misused on countless occasions and paired with da--.
• Sex/Nudity: Like most R-rated comedies these days, the sexual content is pervasive and way over-the-top. There’s very frank, crude discussion of male and female anatomy, not to mention specific sexual acts. Gena provides a lengthy primer on oral sex to a random guy sitting by her on a plane. Lizzy and Clyde are shown in bed together after sex (nothing but the initial foreplay is shown). Regan and Trevor hook up in a bathroom (no nudity, but some pretty graphic movements are shown). A male stripper’s performance is cut short at Becky’s bachelorette party, but he does strip down to his very skimpy underwear.
• Violence: Only of the comedic variety.

Christa Banister is an author and full-time freelancer writer, specializing in music, movies and books-related reviews and interviews and is the author of two novels, Around the World in 80 Dates and Blessed Are the Meddlers. Based in Dallas, Texas, she also weighs in on various aspects of pop culture on her personal blog. 

Publication date: September 7, 2012