BRIDESMAIDS tracks five dissimilar ladies chosen for the presumably fun task of giving a jolly sisters-in-arms sendoff to an altar-bound comrade. Thanks to personality clashes, envy, jealousy, honest mistakes and rotten luck it doesn’t work out quite as smoothly as hoped. Thanks to the writing, casting and performing, the idea that became the movie turned up a 2011 smash for all involved. Pundits, peers and public threw a vibal shower of reviews, awards and tickets, gift-rapping two of the stars with breakout status, jumping from backup faves to big league players.

“Why can’t you be happy for me and then go home and talk about me behind my back like a normal person?”

‘Annie’ (Kristen Wiig) is a mess. Crappy job. Creepoid roommates. Broke. Recycling a unsatisfying relationship with a jerk who casually uses her. A pooped ’87 Toyota Corolla. On the only flickering bright side, she does have a lifelong best friend, ‘Lillian’ (Maya Rudolph), who chooses Annie to be maid of honor at her wedding. The other bridesmaids—all breaking news to Annie—are ‘Rita’ (Wendi McLenden-Covey), soured on men, marriage and kids; ‘Becca’ (Ellie Kemper), newlywed and naive as a fawn; ‘Megan’ (Melissa McCarthy), raunch-flavored and fearless; and rich, super-sweet knockout ‘Helen’ (Rose Byrne), who seems to do everything perfectly. Outnumbered, outguessed and outclassed, Annie is a walking crash course in train wrecks, private and public.

Wiig, 38, co-wrote the script with Annie Mumalo (who has a small role as panicky plane passenger) and their fine-tuned calibrations of snark, silliness and slapstick (with director Paul Feig allowing improv to improve the brew) reached out and grabbed an Oscar nomination. While wonder woman Wiig deserved but didn’t get a Best Actress nomination, the yank-by-roots hurricane McCarthy did wrest one in the Supporting Actress category. While the script’s brim basket of personality traits and comedic variations and the resultant creative success were shared by the team, chameleonic Wiig and genial fireball McCarthy, 40, reaped the lionesses share of standout benefits.

MEGAN: “I fell off a cruise ship, but I’m back.”   ANNIE: “Oh, shit.”   MEGAN: “Yeah, “oh shit.” Took a hard, hard, violent fall. Kind of pinballed down. Hit a lot of railings, broke a lot of shit. I’m not going to say I survived, I’m going to say I thrived. I met a dolphin down there. And I swear to God, that dolphin looked not at me, but into my soul, into my goddamn soul, Annie. And he said, “I’m saving you Megan.” Not with his mouth, but he said it, I’m assuming, telepathically.”

Sly, keenly observant of relationship dynamics (social, sexual, pecking order, class, monetary); real enough at times to be painfully acute; playfully absurd; ribald into filthy, yet the (literal) toilet-humor stuff is so gleefully outrageous that it comes off as harmless (unlike the same year’s Horrible Bosses, where it’s lazy, forced and mean); and the progressive array of set-piece disasters are given breathing space thru a hope-salving subplot when Annie encounters an actual good guy, a deadpan cop nicely done by Chris O’Dowd. For our money, another subplot, with Matt Lucas and Rebel Wilson, feels tacked on; the 125 minute running time could’ve been shaved a good ten by jettisoning that nonsense. Otherwise, the rest of the characters have the welcome element of dimension. Wiig’s bottomless range of expression, full-on-daffy to minutely nuanced, make Annie—challenging because she’s self-absorbed, pitiable and pitiful—remain accessible and sympathetic: her one-on-one scenes with SNL alumnus Rudolph (total quick draw artist) and cool beauty Byrne (still Aussie waters run deep) are mini-marvels of space sharing. McCarthy is riotous, smart enough to walk the tightrope that divides the honestly, innately hilarious from mere indulgent, sophomoric obnoxiousness.

Stirred for $32,500,000, baking up 14th place and $169,107,000 in North America, with $137,335,000 cooked in other markets, ranking #22 of the 591 features released in 2011.

“You are more beautiful than Cinderella!”

The soundtrack includes a killer version of “Shakin’ All Over” from the mighty Wanda Jackson. With Jill Clayburgh (66, final film), Jon Hamm (enjoying himself), Michael Hitchcock, Ben Falcone, Mia Rose Frampton (the teenage shopper dueling insults with ‘mature’ Annie), Terry Crews, Franklin Ajaye, Richard Riehle and Wilson Phillips.