Before Bridesmaids, a lot of the best R-rated comedies that deserved their 17+ rating were male-centric buddy films like The Hangover, Superbad, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and more. Then came Bridesmaids, which showed that women were just as capable as men of providing raunchy comedy that’ll stay in the minds of audiences for years. However, Kate Hudson talked about how one of her movies was “ahead of the curve” and could have had the potential of beating the R-rated punch.
The success of Bridesmaids that future female comedies should keep in mind came from providing laughs without being over the top and seeing a variety of female actresses provide their own brand of comedy in different ways. If you can believe it, Kate Hudson had a movie released in 2009 that she believed had the potential to be like Bridesmaids. On her and her brother’s podcast Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson, the Almost Famous actress said a wedding movie of hers could have beat it to the R-rated punch:
Casey [Wilson] and June [Diane Raphael] wrote Bride Wars — which was originally a very rated-R Bride Wars that was at Miramax. And then Miramax fell apart, and Fox picked it up [at] New Regency. And then, slowly but surely, it became a PG version of what Casey and June initially wrote.
That must have been really frustrating to have to tone down an R-rated comedy because of where it got picked up. The best thing about a 17 and older comedy film is its power to take risks in an unfiltered way. Looking back at the New York-set rom-com, Bride Wars could have had the potential to go all out there with its comedy about two friends fighting for the same wedding venue. But the watered-down version only led to a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Razzie nomination.
In terms of Miramax’s downfall, Kate Hudson could be referring to when Bob and Harvey Weinstein left Miramax after tensions rose when Disney acquired the company. While Disney didn’t ditch Miramax, the company announced in 2009 that it was downsizing in staff and releasing a limited number of Miramax movies a year. Fox and New Regency would seem like a good direction for Casey Wilson and June Diane Raphael’s screenplay to reach a broader audience. However, the PG rating would mean having to cut edgier R-rated humor and mature themes that would have helped distinguish it.
In the podcast episode, Casey Wilson explained that she and her best friend June Diane Raphael performed a two-women show at the HBO Comedy Festival. New Regency executive Heidi Sherman was there and asked the two to adapt the Bride Wars script. But Kate Hudson emphasized how a shift in studios taking on a script can affect a screenplay’s tone and prevent being “ahead of the curve:”
This is important, because we were ahead of the curve when it came to a very rated-R female comedy, and they didn't want to do it. But when Judd Apatow wanted to make Bridesmaids, they were very happy to be a little bit more what we were trying to initially do to begin with. … We were ahead of the curve, and then we kind of got a little smushed by them wanting it to be PG. But Casey and June wrote the most — I sometimes wish we could put out that original script, because it was so deeply funny.
I’d be really curious about what the initial script of Bride Wars would have entailed. But like Oliver Hudson suggested, maybe the friendship comedy could be adapted into a Broadway musical! Perhaps this would give their initial R-rated script a second chance to be what it was originally intended for. Considering the mature long-running musicals that have been hits like Chicago, Rent, Rock of Ages and more, Bride Wars as a Broadway musical wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
It’s a shame that Bride Wars was “ahead of the curve” in providing an R-rated female friendship comedy that could have challenged the feel-good genre. However, at least it’s good that we had a film like Bridesmaids to walk so that female-led buddy comedies like Pitch Perfect, Girls Trip and The Heat could run. Bride Wars is available to find for rent on various digital platforms, while Bridesmaids can be found on your Amazon Prime subscription.
