Philomena | Bridesmaids

After my Quickflix trial ended, I searched my library for all of the movies remaining on my queue, and found that they were all in its collection. I then looked for all of the movies from last year that I wanted to see, and found that the library had those too. So I’ve placed holds on all of them, and have been watching them as they trickle in when my turn comes around (Stories We Tell and Quartet were VERY GOOD. Anchorman 2 was NOT VERY GOOD [there were moments on par with the original, but mostly it was disappointing]).

In my online library account it tells me how many people have placed holds ahead of me so that I have a vague idea of when it’ll be my turn. When I checked last week I was 17th in line to borrow the DVD of Philomena, which I worked out (given that everyone is allowed to borrow their items for a month), meant I might finally get to see it around the end of next year. But then, two days later, I received an email to say that it was waiting for me to collect it, so I ran to the library, watched it that night, and returned it the next day before anyone had the chance to realise there must have been a terrible mix up and I was actually last in the line rather than first.

Philomena is brilliant, heartbreaking, funny, awful and sweet. Of all of these, it’s the heartbreak that lingers when I think of it, though. Heartbreak and anger. Perhaps I would have found it less distressing if I’d had to wait until late next year to see it, when Hazel was older (I can’t remember if it says his age in the film, but the child appears to be under 18 months old when he’s taken); I won’t know. I’d watch it again if I could go back in time and knew what to expect of the opening scenes, though, so I don’t even know if I’d add a warning to my recommendation for parents/grandparents/anyone else particularly attached to a baby (there: you’ve been non-warned). Coogan and Dench are wonderful, there were more laughs than I’d expected, and it’s had me thinking a lot about faith and forgiveness since. It was brilliant (and heartbreaking). I’d give this film 5 out of 5 potatoes.

I remember seeing the poster for Bridesmaids when it was plastered on bus stops and billboards and thinking it looked like the kind of movie I may have enjoyed back in the days when I was Young and Uncultured, but that I’d do well to avoid now that I was Mature and Classy. It probably has fart jokes in it, I thought, scornfully. FART JOKES. 

Then recently I borrowed Friends With Kids from the library and rather liked it, and in the special features I learned that some of the actors had worked together before in Bridesmaids (four of them were in both movies). And then everything I read/heard/saw kept mentioning Bridesmaids, and eventually I decided just to watch the movie so I’d finally know what all the fuss was about.

IT IS THE FUNNIEST MOVIE I’VE SEEN, POSSIBLY EVER. (I say “possibly” because I can’t remember any other movies that could challenge it, but then I also can’t remember what I did last Saturday, so…) It’s also so much better than any other romantic comedy/besties movie I can think of. ANY. I loved it. And Alan sat down with me as it was starting (making no commitments about sticking around until the end), and he stuck around until the end, which is quite a compliment to the movie from him. It’s sweary and sometimes gross, but also hilarious (I had to pause it twice to recover because I was crying from laughing and couldn’t see the screen) and touching and real, and I’d give it 5 out of 5 potatoes too.