It's a nice day for a Wiig wedding

The 'Saturday Night Live' star catches the bouquet as a memorably messed-up maid of honor in 'Bridesmaids'

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The royal wedding has come and gone. Now it’s time for acoronation and, in “Bridesmaids,” Kristen Wiig demonstrates she’s more thanqualified to be the new queen of comedy.

In addition to playing the central role of a depressedformer bakery owner for whom life offers nothing particularly sweet, Wiigco-wrote the raunchy yet often tender screenplay with Anne Mumolo. Theyunderstand the complexities of long-running friendships, how admiration andjealousy can sometimes go hand in hand when your BFF seems to have the world ather feet at the same time you can feel the world on your shoulders. Unlike theinsipid, borderline-misogynistic “Something Borrowed,” “Bridesmaids” doesn’tdefine all of its female characters solely on the basis of their abilities to snaga man, or that all-important little band of gold. “Borrowed,” which seems likea muddleheaded script even Sandra Dee would have rejected 50 years ago, insiststhat putting on a white dress will whitewash away all your problems. In“Bridesmaids,” Wiig and Mumolo make it clear that the real fairy-tale endingcomes when you’re happy with yourself.

Wiig plays Annie, still reeling from the failure of her CakeBaby business and trying to dull the pain with the occasional tryst with asleek, loathsome Lothario (a very funny Jon Hamm). Although her mom (the lateJill Clayburgh, marvelously cast) tries to boost her spirits, Annie hasapparently convinced herself that if the sun comes out tomorrow it will onlygive her sun poisoning.

So she’s hardly in any sort of shape to take on maid ofhonor duties for her buoyant buddy, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), who is as upbeatand enthusiastic as Annie is morose and disconnected. If that’s not quiteenough, Lillian also has a sparkling, wealthy and immaculately groomed new palnamed Helen (Rose Byrne), whose elegant air of condescension and sly sense ofsuperiority will ultimately drive Annie to alarming extremes.

As Annie unravels, Wiig hits the comic jackpot, showing thiswoebegone woman’s desperate desire to please and her utter inability torecognize how much is too much. When Annie anxiously tries to top Helen’s toastto Lillian by ladling on sticky-sweet sentiments worthy of the world’s worstHallmark card, or pretending to have some psychic connection with her that noone else can comprehend, the sequence is harrowingly hilarious andmagnificently modulated: As much as you wish Annie would simply shut up andsave what’s left of her reputation, you can’t wait to hear what she says next.The same is true of a terrific montage late in the film, in which Annie triesto get the attention of a police officer (Chris O’Dowd) by committing as manymoving violations as she can think of.

While Wiig could easily have turned “Bridesmaids” into avanity vehicle, she generously shares the spotlight. In complete contrast toKate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin in “Something Borrowed,” Rudolph and Wiig arecompletely convincing as longtime friends who have packed many years of sharedconfidences into their easy rapport. Rudolph illustrates the misgivings andinsecurities behind Lillian’s sunny serenity without turning her into a bitchyBridezilla (which is one of the crushing mistakes Hudson makes in “Borrowed”).Byrne doesn’t reduce Helen into a tyrannical trophy wife, either: One of thefilm’s most refreshing surprises is that, even though it’s obvious why Helenaggravates Annie, Helen isn’t vicious or scheming. She and Annie share the samegoal — giving Lillian a splendid wedding — but have differing ideas about howto accomplish it.

What Zach Galifianakis was to “The Hangover,” MelissaMcCarthy is to “Bridesmaids.” AsMegan, the most assertive and adventurous of the bunch, McCarthy reaps biglaughs while slowly revealing unexpected, fascinating facets of Megan’spersonality. While she’s the movie’s brassy, convention-defying bombshell,McCarthy doesn’t overlook the sharp little details nestled inside this largerthan life personality. Wendi McLendon-Covey, as a harried mom who sees thebridesmaid gig as a temporary pass out of her suburban hellhole, and EllieKemper, playing a newlywed with precious little life experience, alsocontribute amusing asides, although their screen time is limited.

The worst that can be said about “Bridesmaids” is that, notunlike many receptions, it goes on a little too long. That’s a common flaw inmany of the movies produced by Judd Apatow; there’s a tendency to keep crammingin the jokes, even if they don’t always advance the story (case in point: theridiculously funny and painfully slow-moving “director’s cut” of “The40-Year-Old Virgin” that was released on DVD a few years back). Even the fillerin “Bridesmaids” is generally high-quality, however, primarily because Wiig and her co-stars are so engaging you really don't want to see the party end.

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