To be honest, I was a little skeptical about Bridesmaids. The only comedy I’d ever seen Rose Byrne attempt was her baffling, bored character in Get Him To The Greek, and I wasn’t certain she could be funny playing a closer-to-normal personality. Plus, Kristen Wiig is usually a Jack Black for me—better in side character doses. In a summer filled with hard R-rated comedies I expected Bridesmaids to pull a Funny People at the box office, even if it ended up being legitimately good. However, I was poised on the edge of my seat to see whether a female raunch comedy could work, and was happy when it did. If you did miss it, you’ll be able to catch up with the comedy on September 20th.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is giving us a lot of options for purchase including a Blu-ray combo pack, a DVD combo pack, a single DVD, and a digital release. A lot of the time, rolling with the digital release can be worth it, especially if you tend to watch films on portable devices. With the Bridesmaids release, the only way you will get the unrated version of the film is with the physical copies. If you end up grabbing either the DVD or Blu-Ray combo packs, though, you will get a digital copy as part of the set.
The combo packs are also better for special features, especially with the Blu-Ray release. DVD copies will feature commentary, a gag reel, additional deleted scenes, and extended and alternate scenes. The Blu-Ray release will come with even more deleted scenes, including a commercial for Brynn and Gil’s Oo-Laka juice. Featurettes will focus extensively on Kristen Wiig, including a “Drunk-O-Rama” plane segment, a tennis court “Pep Talk” bit, and a third featurette that focuses on Wiig’s ‘Annie’ and Byrne’s ‘Helen.’
2011 has been kind to the hard R crowd, and Bridesmaids ended up pulling in over $163 million domestically. It’s a good sign for female comedy, but one success only provides other opportunities. Those further endeavors need to crush too. Then maybe I won’t have to act surprised anytime a movie like Bridesmaids is legitimately great.
