A weekend at the theater

With the arrival of Memorial Day comes the releases of the better movies of the summer. There's so much out there that I want to see right now, so we had to hit the movie theater twice over the long weekend. The first movie we went to see was "Hangover 2." I loved the original movie. This one was your typical sequel. The plot was exactly the same as the first: bachelor party, wake up amid madness the next morning with no clue, someone is missing, retrace steps, etc. Baby Carlos is replaced by a smoking money (see predictable PETA backlash here). This could have been a horrible movie had it not been saved by an excellent cast. Ed Helms plays his character of a nerdy dentist with "a demon inside" to perfection. Zack Galifianakis is so socially awkward it's hilarious. Bradley Cooper even fits his character. But the best part of this movie without a doubt is Ken Jeong as Mr. Chow. He made this movie for me, I am so glad they gave him a more significant role. Justin Bartha gets shafted again with only a few speaking lines. "Hangover 2" made $86.5MM at the box office for its opening weekend.

The second movie we saw was my favorite of the two. Last night we went to Kristen Wiig's "Bridesmaids" and it was hilarious! Maya Rudolph joins her old SNL pal Wiig (who co-wrote and starred) as the best friend getting married. Wiig feels upstaged and replaced by Rudolph's new friend, played by Rose Byrne. With this movie and "Get Him to the Greek," I am so amazed with Byrne's transformation from small screen drama actress on "Damages" to big screen comedic gold. If anyone hasn't seen this movie yet, you have to go see it. The scene at a snotty wedding dress shop has me laughing so hard I almost cried. Melissa McCarthy, who I love from my "Gilmore Girl" watching days, was definitely a highlight of the movie as one of my favorite bridesmaids. Watch through the beginning of the credits and you'll get a bonus scene with her. Jon Hamm from "Mad Men" was great in his cameo and I hope to see more from Chris O'Dowd, the cop who becomes a love interest. In three weekends this movie has grossed a little over $89MM.