BRIDESMAIDS
Paul Feig on giving modern comedy a shot in the arm.
Paul Feig helps us celebrate his matrimonial mirth-maker PORTRAIT MARCO VITTUR
“YOU ALWAYS HOPE you do something people remember,” says Paul Feig, “but everything can feel disposable.” Produced by Judd Apatow and co-written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, Feig’s
Bridesmaids proved that female-led humour was worth taking a chance on. “It’s always in the back of your head — hoping it means something to people beyond the initial blast.”
A decade ago, the prospect of a comedy fronted by women was not an appealing one to the Hollywood studios. “I’d been dying to do female-led things,” Feig remembers. “I tried for years to pitch things, and the industry said that it wouldn’t sell if it was a woman. At first you’re like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know how the business works,’ but then you realise it’s just fucked up!” Then along came a script so sharp that it grabbed him immediately. “At the time it had a name like ‘Honored’ or something. It was like this present that dropped from the heavens.”
Comedic gold abounds in Bridesmaids: a nightmarish bout of food poisoning in a bridal shop; a speech-off between flawed hero Annie (Wiig) and the seemingly perfect Helen (Rose Byrne); a moment of unbridled rage for Annie, screaming at the wedding shower. “So many movies about women would devolve into some kind of catfight,” Feig explains. “I always hated that; we wanted to make sure it was fun and real, but nobody lost their dignity.”
The movie also introduced Melissa Mccarthy to the world; “She went on this improv tear in the audition about getting men and tearing them apart,” recalls the director. “It was so unusual that it took me a good 15 to 20 seconds to realise that what she was doing was really funny.” And it inspired Feig to, for the first time, let his stars riff, rather than adhere to the script: “Before
Bridesmaids, I never deviated. But then I realised you’re cutting off this fount of creativity.”
Bridesmaids remains a touchstone for films about funny women, as well as paving the way for the likes of Pitch Perfect and Girls Trip. Feig still gets asked about it all the time. “I love it when people say, ‘I watched it 20 times. I watch it whenever
I get sad.’ That’s why we do comedy! I want to be people’s comfort food. The crazy thing was when the movie ended up getting nominated for two Oscars.”
It may not have won a little golden statue, but this tale of female friendship and tainted Brazilian food didn’t need one anyway. “If you said you could have an Oscar, or a movie that people love and keep loving for decades, I think I’d take the second.” Us too, Paul. Us too.