Bridesmaids

Ya know all those tawdry comedies about foul-mouthed slackers who can't hold a job, who sleep around, insult everyone and generally exhaust the patience of everyone who cares about them? Well, this time the lead isn't Seth Rogan, it's a woman! I thought women had better sense...

My reaction?

• Fed up, because each tasteless joke was beaten to death;
• Put off by the lewd language of all of the characters;
• Frustrated, I wanted to slap some sense into that selfish slacker;
• Disgusted by destructive behavior which is passed off as comedy;
• Recoiled from seeing one woman vomit into another woman's hair;
• Repelled by the latest guaranteed laugh: Instead of a kick to the crotch, it's a slam to the breast;
• Tired of self-centered, gross, petulant behavior;
• Pitied John Hamm ("Mad Men"), once again typecast as a "hand- some scoundrel."

Kristen Wiig ("Paul") is the new comedienne du jour. This talented Saturday Night Live alum has been working steadily in Hollywood even as the cultural quality of her films slides steadily downhill. Producer Judd Apatow ("Knocked Up") has set the bar pretty low: raunchy but profit- able, so that seems to be what his fans expect.

Wiig's character is the BFF (Best Forever Friend) to the soon-to-be bride, played by Maya Rudolph ("Grown Ups"), another Saturday Night Live alum. She is jealous and resentful when her friend appears to have a new BFF, played by Rose Byrne ("Get Him to the Greek"). This pathetic movie is about our heroine's crass attempts to derail it.

Even though this atrocity passed the Bechdel Test (the female characters have names and they don't talk about men), there is only one person to root for: the cop played by Irish actor Chris O'Dowd ("Dinner for Schmucks"). That's a pretty sad commentary, isn't it....