(Paul Feig, US 2011, 125 min., DCP)
Born in Canandaigua and graduated from Brighton, Kristen Wiig shot to fame on seven seasons of Saturday Night Live. Toward the end of that run, she wrote and starred in this hilarious comedy about best friends torn apart by the trauma of wedding planning. Annie Walker (Wiig) lost her bakery business in the recession and, as a result, her boyfriend. She is now working an unsatisfying job at a jewelry store and has to share her apartment in order to pay the rent. Things are looking up when best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) announces she is engaged and asks Annie to be her maid of honor. Trouble comes in the form of Helen (Rose Byrne), one of Lillian’s bridesmaids and the wife of her soon-to-be-husband’s boss. Annie and Helen are jealous of the other’s friendship with Lillian and, after a series of poor decisions, Annie’s status as maid of honor, not to mention her friendship with Lillian. The raucous cast includes Academy Award-nominated Melissa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson, Ellie Kemper, Jon Hamm, Chris O’Dowd, and a special appearance by Wilson Phillips!