Bachelorette

Pity its third act twist into melodrama, because before that Bachelorette wasn’t a half-bad female-centric twist on a group of friends reuniting and behaving awfully for one wild night. Actually, Bachelorette never truly finds that sweet spot between moments of raunchy humor and emotional depth. It works better when it puts aside the quiet character moments and focuses instead on being a debauched riot.

Beginning with the revelation that their “fat friend” is getting married before any of them, the main trio reunite as said friend’s maid-of-honor and bridesmaids. Each of them seem to have calcified into their high school era personas – a type-A ice queen, a cynical and introspective drug addict, and a party-girl eternally looking for the next good time. And each of these characters are played beautifully, possibly because they’ve been cast to type by a group of strong actresses.

Kirsten Dunst finds a welcome balance between internally seething with rage at not reaching this milestone before the rest of her friends, and finding the laughs in the situation. Lizzy Caplan possibly plays her character with too much vulnerability and honesty, we root for her to get her head straightened out, yet find her equally frustrating over still being this wildly incompetent in maneuvering through life. Best in show is easily Isla Fisher as the manic, slapstick prone walking disaster zone.

Bachelorette utilizes them very well, but leaves talented comic actors like Rebel Wilson, Adam Scott, Hayes MacArthur, and James Marsden with very little to do. Andrew Rannells makes the most out of his minimal screen time, but wouldn’t this film have only improved with it had used this talented cast more effectively? I think so.