After a two-month wait, the hit comedy Bridesmaids finally hits UAE screens today. Alex Ritman finds the delay has done nothing but increase expectations
It's finally here. What has been described as "the best female-driven, R-rated comedy of all time", "a rejoinder to sugary rom-coms" and "a superior, female version of The Hangover" will very soon be ditching the unofficial tagline of "that film everyone outside the UAE has seen".
After a wait of more than two months since the international launch, Bridesmaids, the unexpected smash hit of the summer, is today launching across national cinema screens.
Produced by Judd Apatow, the current US comedy general and a man who can seemingly do no wrong (with perhaps the exception of Walk Hard and Step Brothers), Bridesmaids has come shrieking, burping and wiggling its pink dress out of almost nowhere to becoming Universal's biggest rom-com yet and Apatow's most successful film to date.
And with US takings easily surpassing the $152.6 million (Dh560.5m) brought in by the first Sex and the City, Bridesmaids is now the biggest R-rated female comedy ever.
Replacing Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw at the top of the tree is Kristen Wiig's Annie, a woman who doesn't so much have a successful newspaper column, a shoe collection that would make Imelda Marcos cry and Mr Big's wallet, but rather a failed bakery, $40,000 worth of debt and an extremely weird flatmate (played by Matt Lucas).
As maid of honour for her best friend, Annie has to put personal issues to one side to organise bridal showers and bachelorette parties for the bride and her four rowdy 'maids. Predictably, however, things don't go exactly to plan, and with much zany behaviour, excessive toilet humour and some rather unladylike flatulence, it's easy to see where the comparisons with The Hangover films begin.
But is two months simply too long a wait to keep the audience in suspense? Will anyone who wanted to watch Bridesmaids have found another way to do so, perhaps even by taking the drastic step of going abroad or heading to the murky depths of the web? Simon El-Khoury of Gulf Film (the regional distributors) doesn't think so.
"We haven't seen any of these problems before," he says. "The people who want to watch it are still going to watch it. They're not going to try to download it or anything."
The two-month delay, it turns out, wasn't a decision made to tease UAE fans, but a date set by Universal Pictures long before Bridesmaids was released. "It's been due to come out here on July 21 since the start of the year," says El-Khoury.
Although the wait might have annoyed some, it could actually do wonders for the local box office. When Bridesmaids first launched, few expected it to achieve the levels of success it has done and it was yet to start making headlines. But now, however, it lands in the UAE with two months' worth of international hype and outstanding reviews, something that could encourage thousands to flock to the cinemas this weekend.
"Nobody had heard much about the movie at first," says Abbas Jaffar Ali, of the Abu Dhabi-based film website ME Movies. "But now a lot more people know about it. Two months' wait probably helps it."
Lindsay Johnston, a PR director living in Dubai, is one of the many who have been waiting anxiously for Bridesmaids to arrive. She is especially looking forward to it, considering she has served as a bridesmaid twice herself.
"The delay is really annoying because everyone has been going on and on about something that we don't know about," she says, wondering if the hype will be justified.
"I don't like when people hype movies up too much and then your expectations are high," she said, adding she is not too worried in this case because of the number of reports that it is very funny.
"So many friends have said that I'm going to love it," she said.
Beyond living up to expectations, another concern is just how much of the film will make it past the censors. Apatow isn't a comedian to shy away from excessive use of vulgarities (just watch Superbad for proof), and if the numerous clips online are anything to go by, Bridesmaids could feature a dialogue heavy with expletives.
With the film having a rating of PG15 across the UAE, El-Khoury confirms that a few elements have been cut out.
"There are some things that we have removed, just like any other movie, such as certain bad words," he said.
When The Hangover Part II was first screened, UAE audiences were shocked that various graphic scenes had remained unedited. It took just a week for these to be quickly removed.
However, El-Khoury is confident that this won't be the case with Bridesmaids.
"Thankfully, it's not that much like The Hangover Part II.
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Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Specs%20
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The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2
Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers
Opening fixtures
Thursday, December 5
6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles
7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers
7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles
7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2
Recent winners
2018 Dubai Hurricanes
2017 Dubai Exiles
2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Wednesday's results
Finland 3-0 Armenia
Faroes Islands 1-0 Malta
Sweden 1-1 Spain
Gibraltar 2-3 Georgia
Romania 1-1 Norway
Greece 2-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy
Switzerland 2-0 Rep of Ireland
Israel 3-1 Latvia
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
More on animal trafficking
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
CHINESE GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID
1st row
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2nd row
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
3rd row
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)
4th row
Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
Sergio Perez (Force India)
5th row
Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault)
Romain Grosjean (Haas)
6th row
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Esteban Ocon (Force India)
7th row
Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
8th row
Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
9th row
Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
Lance Stroll (Williams)
10th row
Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
arcus Ericsson (Sauber)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Stage result
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4:42:34
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) BikeExchange-Jayco
5. Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
6. Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team
8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
9. Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirate
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
