This was my third most anticipated movie of the summer (behind Prometheus and, of course, The Dark Knight Rises). I’m sorry to say it’s merely pretty good. I’m really torn on this one, because I absolutely love all the risks that Sacha Baron Cohen took, but I don’t think all of them pay off.
What Works: This one is so difficult to grade because on the one hand, it’s absolutely the most daring movie of movie, a large scale summer comedy that pushes every boundary you can think of and is one of the only Hollywood comedies in recent years to actually speak about something going on in the world. [Relevancy and an awareness of global events isn’t something anyone can accuse The Hangover, Super Bad, and, yes, Bridesmaids of.]
What Doesn’t Work: And yet, I have to admit that many of the jokes are misfires and the movie could have used a quality editor to come in and trim off the five seconds of each joke that goes on too long (there are more awkward pauses and lines in this thing than a season of The Office). Still, I say see it.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Hired that editor.