Summary
- Bridesmaids almost had a funny cameo from Paul Rudd, but it was cut from the final movie due to time and plot constraints.
- The movie was already a hit without Rudd’s appearance, earning $280 million worldwide and launching the comedy careers of Melissa McCarthy and Ellie Kemper.
- Fans have been clamoring for a Bridesmaids sequel to reunite the talented cast and continue the movie’s balance of heart and humor.
The 2011 comedy classic Bridesmaids almost included a hilarious cameo from Paul Rudd, but the scene was deleted from the final cut of the movie. Bridesmaids already featured a number of top-tier comedic actors, including Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Jon Hamm, but Rudd was almost another addition to the star-studded cast. Even without his appearance, the movie was a smashing success, earning $280 million worldwide. It even helped propel the comedy careers of actors like Melissa McCarthy and Ellie Kemper.
Ever since the film was released, fans have been calling for a Bridesmaids sequel to reunite the whole cast. The collection of brilliant female stars was complemented by the movie’s fresh take on comedy ensembles, its interesting and relatable storyline, and its emotional and heartfelt underlying theme. In a relatively short amount of time, Bridesmaids managed to strike an impressive balance of heart and humor that captured audiences’ attention. However, it couldn’t make room for Paul Rudd when all was said and done.
Paul Rudd Made A Hilarious Bridesmaids Cameo As Annie’s Blind Date
Rudd filmed a number of scenes for Bridesmaids that were supposed to be included in the final cut of the film. His character’s storyline saw him going on a blind ice-skating date with Annie. From there, everything started to go terribly wrong. Rudd was asked to repeatedly crash on the ice. His character was supposed to look like a raving lunatic, and his scenes called for him to yell expletives at children. The idea was to put pressure on Rudd’s nice-guy reputation and set him up as another guy that Annie must try to get away from.
Paul Feig would later tell Entertainment Weekly about Rudd’s scene, saying, “It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever been a witness to.” Feig and the directors hoped that Rudd’s appearance would be included because it highlighted the bad luck that Annie experienced with guys before her eventual happy ending. They were convinced that Rudd’s chaotic ice-skating moment would end up being one of Bridesmaids‘ funniest scenes. Inevitably, the scene was up against a tough decision as the studio began to show initial screenings to test audiences.
Paul Rudd’s Bridesmaids Role Was Cut Due To Time & Plot Constraints
During the original cut of the movie, Bridesmaids was already running around two and a half hours. In addition, Annie was navigating the complications of two men: Hamm’s Ted and Chris O’Dowd’s Officer Nathan. Adding a third man in a blind date storyline seemed too much for the audience to grasp, and the movie needed to be trimmed, not stuffed with additional scenes. When the tough decisions were made in the editing room, Feig eventually decided he had to cut the Rudd’s cameo, despite how funny it was.
There is some historical preservation of the scene, however. When Bridesmaids was made available on DVD, it included pieces of Rudd’s appearance in the bonus content. When all was said and done, the film proved Annie capable of navigating a love triangle, tensions with her best friend, and her roommates. Fans were left to wonder how Rudd’s scenes would have impacted the movie, but the final cut lives on as a modern comedy classic.
Entertainment Weekly
