Here Comes the Bride
Maya Rudolph Talks Bridesmaids
By Alex Scordelis
In Bridesmaids, you wear a wedding gown by the fictional designer Lady St. Petsois JuJu. Where does that gown rank in terms of the most hideous costumes you've had to wear on screen?
I've worn so many hideous costumes. The more hideous the better. I can't say my Donatella costumes from SNL, because they were all masterpieces. I guess the craziest costumes I've had to wear are my Nuni costumes, which were really fun to help create. The Nunis were these strange Germanic art dealers who were both named Nuni that Fred Armisen and I played. Fred always wore the same purple jumpsuit, and my lady wore a flapper dress on one side and a ball gown on the other. It was always something asymmetrical, confusing and difficult to sit down in a chair in. Completely nonsensical.
When Bridesmaids hits theaters, it will instantly enter the pantheon of wedding comedies. How is Bridesmaids different from the pack?
Everyone's saying "wedding comedy," but I don't feel like we were setting out to make a wedding movie. For me, the movie is about this great friendship that is put to task through people moving on with their lives. I love how honest the friendship is in this movie. Amidst all the great jokes, there's a real friendship in there, and it's actually really sweet.
When you read the Bridesmaids screenplay and you saw that your character has to endure some pretty raunchy moments, did you have a moment of hesitation and think, "What am I getting myself into?"
Absolutely. I definitely wasn't sure how I was going to portray some of the more disgusting parts of the bridal party dress fitting. It's not my normal schtick, but I think it worked out nicely. I got to do some stunts, which was fun. Apparently I had Angelina Jolie's stunt double. I've read in many places that she does her own stunts, but I can probably say that we share the same stunt lady, which is awesome.
What do you think Kate Middleton could have learned from watching Bridesmaids? Anything that could have made the royal wedding go more smoothly?
Well, as everyone knows, I'm British.
What?
I'm not. But since I'm such a renowned expert on English culture, I have a lot of opinions that I'd like to share. She'd probably learn not to go to a Brazilian restaurant in a crappy part of town before a dress-fitting. Stay away from the charred meat on sticks.
Your next project is an NBC with Christina Applegate and Will Arnett. Are there any details you can share about that show?
Your Comment
Posted at 12:38 on May 14, 2011
Maya Rudolph is the daughter of late songbird Minnie Riperton, and she is starring in movie where none of her bridesmaids are Black? She is clearly a woman of color, but all her bridesmaids are White....come on.
Posted at 7:49 on May 17, 2011
Jeez, why is everyone so obsessed with her race? Focus on her talent her amazing talent. She's hilarious and brave. I'm black and I'm so much more interested in how she is as an actress than what color she is. I'm proud that she's a woman of color who hasn't limited herself to only dealing with other people of color because it's comfortable. Besides she's spoken of how proud she is to be Minnie Riperton's daughter repeatedly. She has no issue being Black and also being White. She's just herself, a really talented woman who happens to be biracial who was raised by her White Jewish father after her Black mother died. So who gives a Sh*t if all her bridesmaids are White. Maybe there are no Black ones because the Black women she encountered couldn't get over her being herself, happily biracial.