‘Bridesmaids’ With Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin, and Mina Kimes
January 5, 2021 · Bridesmaids (2011) · Comedy · 1:53:20
Categories
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill Simmons▶ 9:12The friendship scenes, particularly the lunch scene between Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph's characters where 'it's just two characters hanging out for four minutes and you're like, this is fun'
Mallory Rubin▶ 10:33Agrees with the lunch scene establishing the friendship dynamic, noting it makes later scenes like the dueling speeches more effective because it establishes Annie and Lillian's shared history
Mina Kimes▶ 5:27Highlights the Bridal Salon scene as 'pantheon' and 'one of the funniest scenes in the last 20 years,' but also praises the dueling speeches scene and identifies the lunch scene between Annie and Lillian as a 'hidden gem' upon rewatching
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Bill Simmons▶ 48:05Tough morning for the janitor the next morning - who cleans up after the bridal shower disaster
What's Aged the Best
Bill Simmons▶ 1:11:15Weddings as a movie trope, Helen's stepkids and passive aggressive lines, nine golden retriever puppies, Wilson Phillips ending, and Milwaukee as a setting
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:13:16The ensemble performances, scatological humor, and explicit R-rated comedy in general
Mina Kimes▶ 1:10:24The money/class themes and how the film depicts the absurdity of weddings and the wedding industrial complex
What's Aged the Worst
Bill Simmons▶ 1:13:53The cop character (Chris O'Dowd) - poorly written, unmotivated, and makes inappropriate jokes about shooting people; also the Apatow movie formula of hitting rock bottom then rallying at the end
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:18:43Giving out puppies as party favors - irresponsible pet ownership and keeping them in the back of a van
Mina Kimes▶ 1:14:33The cop character - specifically a friendly cop making jokes about shooting people, which wouldn't happen in a 2021 movie
Casting What-Ifs
Bill Simmons▶ 1:19:47Paul Rudd — Discusses various casting alternatives including Rebel Wilson and Busy Phillips for McCarthy's role, Mindy Kaling for Rudolph's role, and mentions Paul Rudd's cut scene. Agrees with another host's suggestion about Paul Rudd or Jason Sudeikis as alternate male leads.
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:20:25Paul Rudd — Cannot imagine cutting Paul Rudd out of a movie, expressing confusion about removing his blind date scene
Mina Kimes▶ 1:20:45Paul Rudd — Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis would have been really good as opposite roads (alternative male leads)
Joey Pants Award
Bill Simmons▶ 1:21:03Ben Falcone — Nominated Ben Falcone (Air Marshal John), Annie's boss at the store as 'clear pick', and Wendy McClendon Covey
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:21:38Michael Hitchcock — Annie's boss at the store (Hamilton Swan from Best in Show)
Mina Kimes▶ 1:22:19Andy Buckley — Mentioned Andy Buckley (Dave Wallace from The Office) and Tim Heidecker as Doug, though noted Heidecker's role was minimal
Apex Mountain
Bill Simmons▶ 1:30:06Kristen Wiig — Yes for Kristen Wiig, yes for Jon Hamm (Mad Men + The Town + this), yes for Melissa McCarthy (Oscar nomination + mainstream breakthrough), no for Maya Rudolph (The Good Place was better), no for Rose Byrne (Neighbors was her peak), yes for Paul Feig, yes for Chris O'Dowd, second/belated apex for Wilson Phillips
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:30:44Melissa McCarthy — Agreed that this was Melissa McCarthy's mainstream breakthrough moment, disagreed on Maya Rudolph (her Good Place run was better), discussed Wilson Phillips having multiple appearances and second life through the movie
Mina Kimes▶ 1:32:08Melissa McCarthy — This is Melissa McCarthy's best performance despite her other good work, definitely yes for Paul Feig as his biggest critical and commercial success
Picking Nits
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:40:23Annie capitalizes random words in her emails; putting the giant cookie and chocolate fountain outside where elements could ruin them; Annie's mom not being in the car with her driving to the shower despite living together
Best Quote
Bill Simmons▶ 1:42:29Acknowledged some quotes earlier in discussion and commented on the picks, calling Jon Hamm's character 'amazing' and noting the semen speech as 'best semen everywhere speech probably in a movie'
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:41:51Three picks: 1) Bryn's line 'At first, I did not know that it was your diary. I thought it was a very sad handwritten book', 2) Lillian's 'Why can't you just be happy for me and then go home and talk behind my back like a normal person', 3) Annie's entire speech about cracking a blanket in half and semen everywhere
Mina Kimes▶ 1:42:35Two picks: 1) Megan's 'I'm glad he's single because I'm going to climb that like a tree', 2) Jon Hamm's 'It's called humor. Learn about it.'
Who Won the Movie
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:50:39Melissa McCarthy — Melissa McCarthy - became an icon, career skyrocketed, got Oscar nomination
Mina Kimes▶ 1:51:25Melissa McCarthy — Melissa McCarthy - the performance that knocks your socks off on first viewing
Movies Referenced (21)
Directors Referenced (3)
Paul Thomas Anderson
2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Punch-Drunk Love, Licorice Pizza, There Will Be Blood▶ 1:08:12IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Ben Affleck
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Argo, Gone Girl, The Town▶ 1:02:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Actors Referenced (51)
Kristen Wiig
29 mentions · Mina Kimes, Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for Bridesmaids, The Skeleton Twins▶ 8:55IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Maya Rudolph
20 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mina Kimes · Known for Bridesmaids, Away We Go▶ 4:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Melissa McCarthy
19 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mina Kimes, Mallory Rubin · Known for The Heat▶ 14:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Rose Byrne
9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mina Kimes, Mallory Rubin · Known for Insidious▶ 4:43IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Rebel Wilson
6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mina Kimes · Known for Jojo Rabbit, Pitch Perfect▶ 1:15:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗
John Belushi
5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mina Kimes · Known for National Lampoon's Animal House, The Blues Brothers▶ 9:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Lamar Jackson
5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mina Kimes · Known for Smokey and the Bandit▶ 1:34:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Terry Crews
4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Idiocracy▶ 9:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Wilson Phillips
4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for Bridesmaids▶ 11:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗