Is Bridesmaids a turning point for funny women?

Kristen Wiig's much-hyped comedy is making its debut, and some are hailing the film as a female-friendly Hangover-style hit

Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig
(Image credit: Suzanne Hanover/Universal)

The big day is here! Bridesmaids, the highly anticipated comedy starring and co-written by Saturday Night Live's Kristen Wiig, has finally hit multiplexes. Some are heralding the female-centric comedy, which was produced by dude-comedy kingpin Judd Apatow, as a turning point for funny women in Hollywood — a Hangover-like lark that could appeal to both sexes and make a lot of money. Is it really a revolutionary film, or just another wedding-themed chick-flick? (Watch the trailer for Bridesmaids.)

It is pretty groundbreaking: "This might be a turning point in feminism and comedy," says Mary Pols at TIME. Bridesmaids mixes over-the-top moments worthy of Hangover — notably a sequence where the women defecate and discuss it after an unseemly bout of food poisoning hits during a visit to a fancy dress shop — with "a shrewd examination of female insecurity." I hope men will give it a chance, too. The film "might be all about women, but the laughs are universal."

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