Annie (Wiig) is thrilled when asked to be maid-of-honor at the wedding of her childhood best friend, Lillian (Rudolph). Yet her newfound role only serves to highlight her many life failures: Annie works at a job she hates, sleeps with a conceited Lothario (Hamm) who treats her like dirt, and is one missed-paycheck away from having to move in with her mother (Clayburgh). Making matters worse, Lillian has a rich, glamorous new friend, Helen (Byrne), whom Annie understandably sees as a threat. Headed for a breakdown, Annie must come to terms with her self-sabotaging behavior, with the help of the other bridesmaids and a cute local cop (O'Dowd).

Though its comic set pieces are anything but subtle, “Bridesmaids” is still screamingly funny; beyond that, and to its credit, the movie also offers an honest, unsentimental look at female relationships and one woman’s “quarter-life” crisis. The stellar Wiig (who co-wrote the script) is at last given a movie role that allows her to shine, in league with comic talents McCarthy, Rudolph, Kemper, and McLendon-Covey. In the end, “Bridesmaids” is as sidesplitting as the best Judd Apatow comedy, but has a lot more heart. (Sadly, this was Jill Clayburgh’s swansong).