The summer movie for girlfriends

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June 1, 2011, 3:00 pm

...and their men friends. Bridesmaids. I waited to see the movie I'd needed to see for months.

I'd heard my friends rave about Bridesmaids, watched the funny FB reciting of lines, and read the tweets about Kristen Wiig's brilliance.

But three kids, a husband and a full-time job got in the way of my girl fun. So I finally took hubby Colin along. I can't say which one of us laughed loudest, but suffice it to say, we both howled plenty. And the theatre, in its fourth week of showing Bridesmaids, seemed filled with couples who'd followed my lead in missing girls night out. By the way, it was sold out. Now, that's staying power.

Here, in the order they appear, are the things that I find refreshingly non-Hollywood about this film. And for that reason alone, I'll go for a repeat..

Kristen Wiig is charming, vulnerable, neurotic, powerful, crazy, sane, and sweet all in one sexy, smart character. Directors who forget women have multiple personalities miss out on so much possibility.

Chris O'Dowd plays Kristen Wiig's love interest, Officer Rhodes.. He was previously unknown to me and he is not Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp. Yay for finding new sex symbols, even if you have to go to Ireland for fresh faces.

Judd Apatow understands women's humor. Too many producers think women want syrupy dialogue and sugary scores, when we're just as likely to laugh at a good fart joke--as long as it's as ruthless as the food poisoning scene in Bridesmaids.

Jon Hamm plays a brilliant loser. There's nothing quite so delicious as seeing a hunk of burning love go down with the dawgs. Hamm is the most despicable "buddy" ever and makes the walk of shame a nightly ritual for his girlfriends. This might be what Don Draper would have turned into if he'd survived to 2011.

Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Hamm had such a great time filming this hit, they'll do it again in "Friends with Kids." Let's hope this genius comedic threesome refuse to do a sequel to "Bridesmaids," and let the thrill of a sleeper hit wash over them like a one night stand.

Kristen, Maya, and the Bridesmaids: Thanks for the laughs girls. That's what friends are for.