Right now you can enjoy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar on VOD. The new film, which is starring and scripted by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, is an absurd comedy with touches of Austin Powers, Hot Rod, and Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, and the duo recently revealed that they almost brought some of that silliness to their Oscar-nominated screenplay for Bridesmaids.
Speaking with The New York Times in support of their wacky new comedy, Wiig and Mumolo confirmed that some of the more absurd ideas they had for 2011’s Bridesmaids ended up falling by the wayside. In fact, one of the characters in Bridesmaids was originally written in a way that was not unlike Barb and Star. Mumolo recalled:
“On ‘Bridesmaids,’ we were writing scenes for Lillian [Wiig] and her mother [played by Lynne Marie Stewart], and we’d go on these runs where the mother would just be talking about Costco. [Exaggerated Midwestern accent] ‘I love that, where did you get that beach cape? It’s out of sight!’ ‘I got it at Costco!’ But they had nothing to do with anything. So it’s grown over the years, and it’s funny because the more we talk about it, we do realize, these characters are a lot who we are.”
Mumolo also recalled another character in the original script that also felt like a predecessor to Barb and Star. She said, “Kristen’s very first boss was this woman who was kind of a Barb and Star [type character]. She was obsessed with dolls.” Would there have been as many culottes? Probably not.
Another element Bridesmaids almost had in common with Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar were full-on musical sequences. Wiig said there were a couple ideas to have musical numbers. Perhaps one of them made it into the movie by way of the ending sequence involving Wilson Phillips and their signature song “Hold On” at the wedding. It’s nowhere near as goofy as the musical sequences in Barb and Star, but you have to start somewhere.
Wiig remembered a quick gag from the Bridesmaids script involving what may have been a dead body. She explained:
“When we were running around to find Lillian [the bride, played by Maya Rudolph], we were going to find a woman lying on the ground. We’re like, ‘It’s Lillian — she’s dead!’ And then we were like, ‘Oh wait — it’s not Lillian.’ And then we just keep running.”
These kind of details make it seem like Bridesmaids was almost a more meta romantic comedy spoof instead of the more genuine version that became a box office hit. Wiig and Mumolo veering away from that parody style probably worked in their favor, but we’re glad they circled back around to those kind of comedic antics for Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Watch it on VOD now!
The post ‘Bridesmaids’ Was Originally Going to Be More Absurd with Musical Numbers and Costco Love appeared first on /Film.
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