'Bridesmaids' Vs. 'The Hangover Part II'

What's the deal with wedding movies this summer? The box-office is feverous with hilarity seeing releases like "The Hangover Part II" and "Bridesmaids." There's also more romantic (comedy?) fare like "Something Borrowed" and "Jumping the Broom." Is it a studio marketing department bandwagon or a Royal Wedding hype conspiracy?

Who cares? Instead let's explore a distinction in gender perceptions between "The Hangover Part II" and "Bridesmaids." The easier task is to just ask what's grosser: a bride's Brazilian food poisoning induced bowel movement on a busy street in her wedding dress or a groom having drunken relations with a kathoey stripper. That is also a whole other ball of wax to ponder.

"The Hangover Part II" is a carbon copy of "The Hangover," with an injected dose of raunchy antics to top Vegas in Bangkok. Writer/Director Todd Phillips is well versed in the exaggerated male perception of relationships, also directing "Old School," "School for Scoundrels," and "Due Date." His career formed in the realms of male debauchery, debuting with a documentary on punk excretion extremist GG Allin, "Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies."

"Bridesmaids" was also directed by a dude, Mr. Paul Feig, creator of "Freaks and Geeks" and contributor to shows like "The Office," "Nurse Jackie," "Arrested Development," "Weeds," "30 Rock," and "Mad Men." Feig directs television that, arguably, smartly mocks the meandering male state of mind. More importantly, "Bridesmaids" was penned by 2 dames of comedic prowess, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo.

An interesting comparative starting point is in the treatment of the opposite sex in both films. With "Bridesmaids," aside from Chris O'Dowd's nice-guy-in-uniform contrasting John Hamm's prick-in-a-Porsche role, men are entirely absent. "The Hangover Part II" tries even less to produce dimension for the contrasting female roles. The groom in "Bridesmaids" doesn't seem to speak a single word, just giving occasional goofy nods. The Bride in "The Hangover Part II" spews out the typically adoring frustrations and worried cliches seen in the first movie.

As much as both films are ensemble casts, the lead protagonists are neither bride nor groom. There is Kristen Wiig as the maid of honor in mayhem for "Bridesmaids" and Bradley Cooper's still-the-bachelor bad boy for "The Hangover Part II." The plots are predictable enough to skip a spoiler alert, but while both end with victory at the altar, it's more about what's projected into Wiig and Cooper.

The bridesmaids try everything and epically fail to make it a perfect wedding, while the groomsmen try desperately to salvage a chance of it actually happening. These two key points reveal fairly obvious perceptions about how women approach weddings compared to men. Women exert an attempted perfectionism that is their downfall for the wedding day. Men play the sidelines safely, but end up scurrying to carry the baggage of neglected duties at the last minute.

As far as screenwriting, "Bridesmaids" has more heart than most Saturday Night Life-esque movies. Call it the Apatow touch (Producer Judd Apatow) fueled by the combination of Wiig's wit and Feig's subtlety. It far outweighs "The Hangover Part II" in attempting any balance between story and sensationalism.

This reflects an assumed contrast between male and female perceptions of weddings. Women put a lot of heart into their special day and as long as men don't interfere with the planning, it will turn out peachy. In "Bridesmaids" it turns out about as peachy as a Wilson-Phillips super ballad. For the guys, it's all about the party before their shackled entry into matrimony. As long as the women keep busy wedding planning, their bachelor party will be one to remember. That's what the "Hangover Part II" encompasses: a night so unforgettable, it's going to take all day to remember it.

Comparative gender studies and cliched plotting aside, "Bridesmaids" and "The Hangover Part II" serve a slice of wedding hilarity in their own right. This article originally published on www.milehighcinema.com