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Director Paul Feig's comedy Bridesmaids opened last weekend and performed better than expected, landing at #2 at the box office. Bridesmaids was produced by 40 Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up director Judd Apatow, who told MTV that he was pleased with the box office result.
I always hoped that there was this huge neglected audience out there hoping someone would start making movies for them. I am so excited I was not imagining things. Hopefully this will lead to a lot more movies being made starring funny women.
Apatow loves the cast >> Posted 05.18.11 by Ryan -
| Title | Weekend | Total | Analysis |
| Thor | $34.5M | $119.3M | With a two-week winning streak Marvel movie vaults to 4th for 2011. |
| Bridesmaids | $24.4M | $24.4M | Female version of The Hangover opens strongly. |
| Fast Five | $19.5M | $168.8M | Car racing action pic extends its lead as 2011's top box office draw. |
| Priest | $14.5M | $14.5M | Not screened for critics, this $60M action-horror pic's 4th place opening does not bode well. |
| Rio | $8.0M | $125.0M | Impressively, the 5th straight week in the Top 5. |
Posted 05.16.11 by reelz -
There's something to be said for nearly half this summer's wide-release movies being sequels, spin-offs, or reboots. That's right, as exciting as the season's blockbusters may seem, we're being inundated with one of the most unoriginal summers the movies have ever seen.
In response, ReelzChannel is introducing the originality meter, a scale to measure each week's wide releases. Rest assured, our meter is 100% guaranteed to be infallible in every way, whatsoever. Plus it's easy to read: A 10 marks a weird, non-linear French art film that's completely original but equally unwatchable, while a 1 is the cinematic equivalent of the 56th episode of a Law and Order spin-off — you know, where three minutes in you can pretty much plot out the whole thing without even knowing the characters.
Here's how May 13th's releases register. >>
Posted 05.13.11 by reelz -
Director Paul Feig's comedy Bridesmaids, which opens today, has often been described as "the female Hangover," which, on one hand, compliments the movie's potential to take adult-oriented themes and make a successful movie, but, on the other, implies that the movie is attempting to copy The Hangover's formula with a female cast instead. Either way, co-screenwriter and star Kristen Wiig wants to avoid the comparison.
Wiig began writing the movie with writer Annie Mumolo in 2006, years before The Hangover was released, and the actress recently told USA Today that she only wanted to make a funny movie and hopes the "female Hangover" tag goes away.
We didn't set out to prove anything or make a statement. It wasn't a response to anything like women don't get to do this. We thought, "Let's sit down and laugh, make something funny." I hope that conversation will go away.
it's a "womance" >> Posted 05.13.11 by Ryan -
Loud, CGI-based action movies are half the summer experience, with the other half primarily composed of raunchy comedies made for — and seemingly by — teenage boys. Last week Thor ushered in the summer onslaught. With nary a superhero in sight this week, the most interesting release is Bridesmaids. Problem is the movie's fighting an uphill battle by being, gasp, a raunchy adult comedy that's targeted at women. That alone makes Bridesmaids worth checking out in our opinion. But if that's not enough, here are five more reasons why it's worth your time.
See 5 Reasons: Bridesmaids >>
Posted 05.12.11 by reelz -
It's been a long, brutal winter in most parts of the country, so it's no surprise that even Hollywood is looking to get a jump on summer. The rollout of blockbuster movies starts this Friday, a full month before the Memorial Day Weekend.
As you'd expect (and hope), the mix of movies being offered up is heavy on the Action/Adventure movies (11) and Comedies (10). There's also plenty of offerings for Kids/Families (8). What's new this year is the addition of more R-rated comedies, thanks in no small measure to The Hangover's runaway success two summers back. Along with it's sequel, see what else is playing this summer — complete with trailers and photo galleries.
See the 2011 Summer Movie Guide >>
Posted 04.25.11 by reelz -
Universal Pictures' upcoming comedy, Bridesmaids, is often referred to "the female Hangover", which, considering the Bridesmaids cast doesn't head to Vegas or wake up not remembering the previous evenings' debauchery, isn't a comment on the movie's plot. Instead, the description is a commentary on the mostly female ensemble cast that says "ladies can be as funny as guys," which seems like a back-handed compliment.
What Bridesmaids Does Share with The Hangover >> Posted 04.20.11 by Ryan -
The upcoming comedy Bridesmaids is the first movie to feature Saturday Night Live cast member Kristen Wiig in a leading role, a fact not lost on director Paul Feig. In an interview with The LA Times, Feig explained that he wanted to put Wiig through the "movie-star machine".
I cast her in her first actual movie role, Unaccompanied Minors. I’ve always been a huge fan of hers and kept up with her. I would get frustrated when I’d see her in movies 'cause they’d either use her too much or they would have her play almost dramatic, so they didn’t use her talents. I wanted to take what she’s funniest at, but then have her grounded and really have her go through the movie-star machine. When you get your first vehicle, you have to come into the machine as people know you, doing what they like about you. And then you go through so many moves and three-dimensional dramatic paces that you come out on the other side a fully realized movie star.
Watch the trailer >> Posted 03.16.11 by reelz -
Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for Bridesmaids, the comedy produced by Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Funny People) and directed by Paul Feig, best known for creating the short-lived TV series Freaks and Geeks (which Apatow produced).
The movie stars Kristen Wigg (who co-wrote the screenplay) as a woman whose life unravels when she is asked by her best friend (Maya Rudolph) to be her Maid of Honor.
watch the trailer >> Posted 02.02.11 by Ryan