The Bridesmaids Script: A Comprehensive Page Count Analysis

The screenplay for Bridesmaids was written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, and is 125 pages long.

Plot summary

Annie (Kristen Wiig) is a single woman living in Milwaukee. Her bakery went out of business, she's in a pseudo-relationship with a self-absorbed man named Ted, and she works at a jewellery store. Her only positive presence is her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph). When Lillian gets engaged, she asks Annie to be her maid of honour. At the engagement party, Annie meets the other bridesmaids: Rita, Becca, Megan, and Helen. Annie and Helen become increasingly competitive for Lillian's attention. Annie's suggestion for a bachelorette party is overruled in favour of a Las Vegas trip planned by Helen. Annie books a ticket in economy class, and accepts a sedative and liquor from Helen to alleviate her fear of flying. However, she begins to hallucinate and suffers a paranoid breakdown, causing the plane to make an emergency landing. The party takes a bus home, and Lillian decides it's best if Helen takes over planning the bridal shower and wedding. Meanwhile, Annie grows closer to Nathan Rhodes, a Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper who lets her off without a ticket for broken brake lights. After a romantic night together, she panics and leaves when Nathan surprises her with baking supplies. Annie is fired from her job after an argument with a customer, and is later evicted by her roommates, forcing her to move in with her mother. She travels to Helen's home in Chicago for the bridal shower, which is Parisian-themed. When Helen upstages Annie's gift by surprising Lillian with a trip to Paris, Annie berates Helen and Lillian, and storms out of the shower. Lillian disinvites Annie from the wedding. As Annie is driving home, her still-broken taillights get her into a car accident, from which the other driver flees. The responding officer is Nathan, who admonishes her for blowing him off and not taking responsibility for herself. Ted arrives to give Annie a ride, causing Nathan to storm off in disgust. However, when Ted asks her to perform oral sex on him as he drives, she demands to be let out of the car and walks home, leaving him for good. Megan visits Annie and motivates her to take control of her life. She resumes baking, gets her car fixed, and tries to make amends with Nathan, though he ignores her. On the day of the wedding, Helen appears at Annie's apartment begging for help finding Lillian, who has disappeared. Helen apologises to Annie, revealing that she does not have any true friends and feels unsatisfied in her marriage. With Nathan's help, they find Lillian hiding out in her own apartment, having become overwhelmed by Helen's extravagant wedding planning. Annie reconciles with Lillian and resumes her role as maid of honour. After the wedding, Annie and Helen share a hug, and Nathan arrives to pick up Annie. Annie and Nathan kiss, and ride away in his police car.

Main characters

Annie Walker

Annie is a young single woman living in Milwaukee. She is the protagonist of the film and Lillian's best friend. Annie has had a series of misfortunes, including her bakery going out of business, losing her savings, and her boyfriend leaving her. She works a stressful, underpaid job at a jewellery store and shares an apartment with obnoxious British immigrant siblings Gil and Brynn. Annie regularly engages in unfulfilling casual sex with a wealthy and self-absorbed man named Ted, who does not respect her, though she yearns for a serious relationship with him. Annie is asked to be Lillian's maid of honour.

Lillian

Lillian is Annie's lifelong best friend. She becomes engaged to her boyfriend Doug and asks Annie to be her maid of honour. Lillian is cynical, naïve, and raunchy. She is also a newlywed and a coworker of Annie's.

Helen

Helen is the wealthy, snobby trophy wife of Doug's boss. She is the nemesis of the film and is instantly jealous of Annie's friendship with Lillian. She is passive-aggressive and becomes increasingly competitive for Lillian's attention. Helen is also the shunned wannabe maid of honour.

Megan

Megan is Doug's raunchy and foul-mouthed but friendly sister. She is also the groom's sister and the only other single woman in the bridal party. Megan is a heavyset sexpot with a heart of gold.

Rita

Rita is Lillian's long-married cousin.

Becca

Becca is Lillian's naïve newlywed coworker.

Officer Nathan Rhodes

Nathan is an Irish-American Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper. He is a former regular customer at Annie's bakery and repeatedly encourages her to open a new one. Annie grows closer to Nathan.

Judy

Judy is Annie's divorced mother. She goes to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to meet men.

The film's genre and themes

The film's genre is a comedy, and its themes include friendship, love, and the challenges of modern life.

The protagonist, Annie Walker, is a single woman living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who has recently experienced a series of misfortunes. Her bakery went out of business, causing her to lose her savings and her boyfriend. She now works a stressful, underpaid job at a jewellery store and shares an apartment with obnoxious British immigrant siblings. Annie regularly engages in unfulfilling casual sex with a wealthy and self-absorbed man named Ted, despite yearning for a serious relationship. The only positive presence in her life is her lifelong best friend, Lillian.

When Lillian becomes engaged to her boyfriend, Doug, she asks Annie to be her maid of honour. At the engagement party, Annie meets Lillian's other bridesmaids: Rita, Becca, Megan, and Helen. Annie and Helen are instantly jealous of each other's friendship with Lillian and become increasingly competitive for her attention.

Throughout the film, Annie struggles to balance her duties as maid of honour with her personal life, which is becoming increasingly chaotic. She grows closer to Nathan Rhodes, a Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper, but panics and abruptly leaves after he surprises her with baking supplies. She is fired from her job after an argument with a customer and is later evicted by her roommates, forcing her to move in with her mother.

As the wedding approaches, Annie's rivalry with Helen intensifies, leading to a series of embarrassing and humiliating incidents. However, despite their differences, Annie and Helen ultimately reconcile, and Annie resumes her role as maid of honour.

The film's critical and commercial success

The success of Bridesmaids was both critical and commercial. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and received multiple other accolades. In 2012, the film was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Melissa McCarthy and Best Original Screenplay for Wiig and Mumolo. This made Bridesmaids the first Apatow-produced film to be nominated for an Academy Award.

The film surpassed Knocked Up to become the top-grossing Judd Apatow production to date, grossing $26,247,410 on its opening weekend and settling for a strong second place behind Thor. Bridesmaids grossed $169,106,725 at the North American domestic box office and $137,335,360 in international markets, totalling $306,442,085. Universal reported that males made up 33% of the movie's audience and that 63% of the audience was over the age of 30.

The film's co-writers, Wiig and Annie Mumolo, appear together when Mumolo plays the credited role of Nervous Woman on Plane, while the film's director, Paul Feig, appears uncredited as one of the wedding guests.

Awards and nominations

Bridesmaids was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. It received multiple other accolades. In 2012, the film was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for McCarthy and Best Original Screenplay for Wiig and Mumolo. This made Bridesmaids the first Apatow-produced film to be nominated for an Academy Award.

The film was also nominated for:

• Best Supporting Actress
• Best Original Screenplay
• Boston Society of Film Critics
• Best Supporting Actress
• British Academy Film Awards
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Best Original Screenplay
• Chicago Film Critics Association
• Best Supporting Actress
• Costume Designers Guild
• Excellence in Contemporary Film
• Leesa Evans, Christine Wada
• Critics' Choice Awards
• Best Acting Ensemble
• Best Supporting Actress
• Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association
• Best Supporting Actress
• Detroit Film Critics Society
• Breakthrough Performance
• Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
• Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
• Houston Film Critics Society
• Best Supporting Actress
• New York Film Critics Online
• Best Supporting Actress
• Best Female Performance
• Best Comedic Performance
• Best Comedic Performance
• Best Breakthrough Performance
• Best Gut-Wrenching Performance
• Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper
• Best On-Screen Dirt Bag
• Online Film Critics Society
• Best Supporting Actress
• People's Choice Awards
• Favorite Comedy Movie
• Favorite Ensemble Movie Cast
• Producers Guild of America
• Best Theatrical Motion Picture
• Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend
• Screen Actors Guild Award
• Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
• St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association
• Choice Movie – Comedy
• Choice Movie Actress – Comedy
• Choice Movie Actress – Comedy
• Choice Movie Hissy Fit
• Choice Movie Scene Stealer – Female
• Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
• Best Supporting Actress
• Best Original Screenplay
• Writers Guild of America Award
• Best Original Screenplay

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