When the cute romantic comedy Bride Wars was released in 2009, it became an instant hit with viewers despite some poor reviews from critics. But Kate Hudson, who starred in the film alongside Anne Hathaway, recently revealed that the silly yet adorable story about two best friends who start competing with each other for the same wedding venue was initially supposed to feature, get this, quite a lot of r-rated comedy!
Speaking on her Sibling Revelry Podcast, which she co-hosts with her brother Oliver, Hudson talked about how the original script got watered down. “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,” she explained. “And then slowly but surely it became a PG version of what Casey and June initially wrote.”
Although the content shift was mildly upsetting for Hudson, who was looking forward to the risqué humor, what really stung was seeing the r-rated 2011 Bridesmaids film getting the green light, dirty jokes and all. “We were ahead of the curve when it came to a very rated-r female comedy, and they didn’t want to do it,” Hudson said. “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,” a clearly disappointed Hudson added. It’s unclear why the Apatow film was given more leeway in terms of creativity. While it may have something to do with different studios backing each project, seeing your idea come to life in someone else’s work can be very unpleasant.
While Bride Wars follows Olivia (Hudson) and Emma (Hathaway) as they spitefully attempt to sabotage the other’s perfect wedding with various pranks and schemes, Bridesmaids focuses on Annie Walker (Kristen Wiig), who is asked to be the maid of honor at her best friend’s wedding. However, things go sideways when she meets a super glamorous and mildly pretentious bridesmaid named Helen Harris (Rose Byrne) and begins to feel threatened.
Directed by Paul Feig from a script by Annie Mumolo, Bridesmaids also stars Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Elli Kemper. The movie was a box office hit, earning $306 million worldwide. But unlike Bride Wars, this raunchy comedy was adored by critics who showered it with rave reviews. The film also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
With such similar themes, one can’t help but wonder if it was the shock value of the r-rated humor in Bridesmaids that won fans over. After watching both movies, I personally prefer Bride Wars simply because it doesn’t rely on dirty jokes to be funny. Movies do not need to channel an ick factor to be successful.
Published: Jan 7, 2025 06:28 pm