Bridesmaids Screenplay Breakdown: Female Comedy Writing Guide

The buddy comedy is a classic formula: two characters, seemingly mismatched for one another, are paired up together and hijinks ensue. And for a very long time, the demand for it was pretty much restricted to men. Bridesmaids, somewhere between a buddy and ensemble comedy, written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo and directed by Paul Fieg, helped change that. 

Literally. 

"There was an edict from Hollywood where they were all going, 'Okay this is a movie starring a bunch of women. If this works, we'll greenlight more, and if it doesn't, we won't...I was really sweating because if this didn't work then I'm basically the man who killed movies for women for eternity. So, thank God it worked," Fieg told Refinery29.

Turns out, audiences — and not just female audiences — just want to see a great film and, surprise surprise, women can star in great films! Bridesmaids made $290 million at the box office, a major success, paving the way for films like The Heat, Booksmart, and Girls Trip.

The Bridesmaids screenplay follows a perfect comedy formula in its structure, proving that you do not have to reinvent the wheel to write a funny screenplay; you just have to bring your own special touch to it. 

Let’s look at how Wiig and Mumolo did it.

OPENING IMAGE

Sex is weird, am I right? 

Wiig’s protagonist Annie opens the film with uncomfortable sex with a man she’s trying to impress. This is a very quick way to introduce a woman who does not have it all together, who struggles to assert herself or advocate for herself, and is no stranger to humiliation. 

But that’s okay, because she has her best friend and confidante, Lillian (played by the incomparable Maya Rudolph) who, like a good friend, doesn’t judge Annie for degrading herself with Ted, but certainly encourages Annie to maybe not be intimate with a guy who makes her hate herself. 

Lillian also supports Annie when they walk by Annie’s closed down bakery. 

Annie’s in a job she hates. She has weird ass roommates.

Yeah, Annie is having a hard time. 

Lillian, on the other hand, just got engaged.

INCITING INCIDENT

Lillian asks Annie to be her maid of honor, but when Annie shows up at the engagement party, she’s in for a big surprise. It is held at a fancy country club in an elegant dining room with “happy upper-class people dressed expensively.” 

Right off the bat, Annie’s a fish out of water. 

Quick side note:

In the late 90s, early 2000s, and even into the 2010s, female comedy really became unleashed and women finally found themselves openly rebelling against a society that expected them to be demure. Sex and the City featured female sexuality and lust while giving audiences an inside look at the kinds of conversations that women really have with each other — or should. 

Bridesmaids is that kind of film and here’s a great example from Rita, a tired housewife played by Wendi McLendon-Covey:

For the half of the population who do not produce semen, it’s a rather alarming substance but were women allowed to talk about that, let alone in film and television? I don’t know. This ensemble of ladies gave us all permission to change that.

Okay, back to the structure. Annie is the odd-(wo)man-out at her best friend’s party and it’s about to get worse as we meet the women who will become the rest of Lillian’s bridal party:

Annie and Rita of course. Guileless and naive Becca. Megan — a true breakout performance from Melissa McCarthy who up until that point had been best known for the bright and poppy role of Suki St. James on Gilmore Girls. 

And Helen. 

FUN AND GAMES

Helen is the perfect foil to Annie. She’s got her life together. She can offer comfort and ease to Lillian, rather than the chaos that follows in Annie’s wake. 

And she’s gunnin’ for the role of BFF. And MOH. The stakes couldn’t be higher. 

The rivalry begins with a toast-off as they each attempt to outdo one another and prove who is closer to Lillian while giving speeches. 

On the drive home, Annie is pulled over by the cute and charming Officer Rhodes, who lets Annie off with a warning and hands her the business card to an autoshop that will give her a good deal. He also writes his name on the card. Maybe things are looking up?

Nope! Helen and Annie duke it out in a “super violent” tennis match. 

Annie plans lunch and bridal gown shopping…but the restaurant is sketchy and she didn’t know she had to make a reservation to try on gowns. Helen saves the day and gets them in with a personal connection. 

Helen picks out an expensive gown for the bridal party to all wear — one Annie cannot afford.

Helen is also friends with the French designer of Lillian’s wedding dress — something meaningful to Lillian who has always wanted to go to Paris. 

And thus do we arrive at perhaps the most iconic scene in the film when the girls all get food poisoning in the bridal shop.

Look, bathroom humor can be a cheap trick, but the stark difference of elegant women in a pristine bridal shop and designer dresses who then lose it from both ends in one tiny powder room — or in a wedding dress in the street in Lillian’s case — is expertly done. 

Annie hits up Ted…bad idea. 

Annie runs into sweet Officer Rhoades…actually has a lot of fun. 

But then it’s time for the bachelorette party. 

MIDPOINT

Annie attempts to plan an affordable party at Lillian’s parents’ lake house. 

Helen intervenes and suddenly the group is flying to Vegas instead, the group in first class…except for Annie, who is stuck in coach and afraid to fly. 

(This is a great reminder of the comedy trick called “truth in pain” — you gotta really torture your characters.)

Annie and her seatmate are both freaking out. Helen gives Annie two pills so she’ll go back to her seat and hopefully fall asleep. When they don’t work she gives her a scotch as well. 

And suddenly Annie is flying high. So high, she refuses to leave first class

So high she gets tackled by an air marshal, causes the captain to make an emergency landing in Wyoming,  and gets the group kicked off the plane.

Lillian tells Annie that she needs everything to go smoothly here on out and that Helen is good at this kind of stuff. 

Yep, fired from her Maid of Honor duties. It’s a comedy, remember, so the stakes are whatever is important to the characters, and in a wedding comedy there is nothing worse for a Maid of Honor than to be upstaged and/or relieved of duty. 

BAD TO WORSE

Back home, Annie meets up with Rhodes, sleeps with him, and then throws a bomb in the relationship when he makes a sweet gesture to encourage her to get back into baking.

She tries to tell Lillian about it but goes straight to voicemail. 

Then she gets an invitation to Lillian’s bridal shower. It’s from Helen, who stole Annie’s idea and fully upstaged her with the execution. 

Annie gets fired from work when she’s rude to a customer — and worse, her boss already told her mom about it. 

Her roommates kick her out. 

But if you thought she’d hit rock bottom yet, you would be wrong, because then she goes to the bridal shower.   

ALL IS LOST

The event is at Helen’s mansion, where a butler hands Annie a bespoke drink in a crystal glass.

Every detail makes it more insane — down to handing out puppies as party favors. 

Annie gives Lillian a meaningful, hand-made gift, but is still upstaged by Helen who announces that she is taking Lillian to Paris for a pre-wedding trip to try on her wedding gown. 

Annie. Effing. Loses it. 

She yells at Lillian. She attacks the giant cookie. Somehow she loses to it and ends up falling on her face in the chocolate fountain. 

And then Lillian effing loses it. 

Note how even while screaming at one another, the dialogue is hilarious. Only Maya Rudolph could get through a line about bleaching her a**hole without laughing. It’s funny for the audience — but not for the characters. (Truth in pain, remember?)

And then Lillian tells Annie not to bother coming to her wedding. 

FINALE

Annie has not gotten her car fixed and causes an accident, leading Rhodes to finally lose it. He gives Annie the cold truth that she’s been needing. She is the only person to blame for all of her problems. 

Megan comes over (with nine of the puppies from the showers) and confirms to Annie that Annie’s behavior has been nothing short of a selfish pity party. 

And because this is a comedy, Annie knows just what to do to quickly and satisfyingly crawl out of the 3rd act low point and bring this baby home to a happy resolution. 

She hugs her mom and introduces her to a nice man. Gets back to baking. Takes her car in. Bakes a peace offering for Rhodes.

And…when Helen shows up in a panic on Lillian’s wedding day because no one can find the bride, Annie saves the day. She does know her dear friend well. She knows how to help her with her cold feet. She even sees a vulnerable side to Helen and they both let down their guards, finally. 

All our characters are friends again and they go to the wedding and it’s a blast. 

And Helen has one final surprise: she orchestrated Rhodes’ arrival at the wedding and he and Annie make up and he drives her home to their presumably happily ever after because this is a comedy about weddings which means everyone ends up happy and in love. 

Even if there’s a warrant out for Annie’s arrest.

The end.