The Trip

The Trip, directed by Michael Winterbottom, and starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as themselves, has a foolproof structure.  The structure is  based on a BBC tv series in which the two characters take a restaurant tour of northern England.  Each episode features a new location.  Originally suggested by Steve's girlfriend, who has since backed off such a romantic journey, the trip takes the two men into and out of luxurious accommodations,  gorgeous scenery, and tantalizing versions of sauteed scallops.

We learn how close the men are by how well they accommodate each other through bouts of talkativeness, recitations of Wordsworth, singing, and imitations of actors, mostly British, which are hilarious.

It's a road movie, a buddy movie, a food movie, and  a story about family and loneliness.  I am so grateful not to have to see a Judd  Apatow movie in order to have a belly laugh!

Bridesmaids

When a woman gets married, it can force a wedge between her and her friends.  She must sacrifice relationships that are not based on sacred rituals.  She has now pledged her troth to her husband and children, and his parents claim higher priority than her best friend  or even her sister.  It changes the whole social matrix of a woman's life.

Bridesmaids acknowledges this painful and poignant change.  Mostly it is just a very funny series of sketches about the perfect wedding run amok, which has become a genre of comedy since the wedding business has loomed large enough to become a huge industry.  (One of my favorite lines comes from the bride's father who says "I am not paying for this.")

Kristen Wiig plays Annie, the maid of honor to her best friend, Lily, (Maya Rudolph), who is now moving in higher class circles than Annie is used to.  A new best friend has emerged from this pricier circle, Helen (Rose Byrne) who is prettier, richer, and more ready to spend the manic energy needed for a perfect wedding.

The cast is very talented, and the love interest of Kristen Wiig, Chris O'Dowl, is so perfect she can't see it at first.  There are some funny scenes having to do with police cruisers and missing persons. 
It is a relief to find a comedy that is full of talented women and written by women.  The few times the comedy doesn't work that well I suspect were inserted by guys and sort of just gross you out.