Humor Theory in Bridesmaids

Paul Feig’s 2011 comedy, Bridesmaids, tells the story of Annie Walker, who’s life is a complete mess, as she prepares for the marriage of her best friend, and only source of happiness, Lillian. Throughout the film Annie fears for her changing relationship with Lillian and because of her fear she makes her situation worse and even more hilarious. Bridesmaids pairs very easily with John Morreall’s theories of humor—superiority, incongruity, and relief—and strongly exhibits each one. 

The Superiority Theory is the idea that humor is anti-social. Superiority Theory goes back to teachings of Plato and Aristotle and is the belief that a person laughs at the misfortune of others because it asserts a person’s superiority over that person. The main use of humor in this film revolves around this theory. Annie’s life is in shambles and it just keeps getting worse as the movie progresses. Throughout the film Annie and Helen are constantly trying to one up each other in order to show their superiority over the other for Lillian’s friendship. Another major way in which the Superiorty Theory is seen in Bridesmaids is through the twins, Brynne and Gil. Brynne is constantly reading Annie's diary and when confronted about it she states, "At first I did not know it was your diary, I thought it was a very sad handwritten book." 

The Incongruity Theory is the idea that humor is irrational. The idea behind the Incongruity Theory is that we laugh at things that surprise us because they do not seem to fit the situation. The character that strikes me as revolving the most around the Incongruity theory is Megan. Megan is a constant surprise the entire film. Whether she is suggesting beating up Lillian for her bachelorette party or taking eight more party favor puppies than she should have, Megan is a constant source of unexpected humor. This unexpected humor starts to become expected of her up until she becomes the voice of reason for Annie when the have their life talk. 

Finally, the Relief Theory is the idea that humor is a pressure valve. The Relief Theory says that the act of laughter relieves some sort of nervous energy within us. The movie itself can start producing some feelings of nervousness of just a general sense of discomfort for the incredibly awkward occurrences. The bathroom scene at the bridal store is one of the most cringe inducing scenes of the entire movie but it is also one of the funniest.