I just got back from seeing Bridesmaids, the new film by Kristen Wiig. It was, indeed, as funny as everyone says. It does, indeed, prove that women can be righteously funny and carry a movie that isn’t a romantic comedy. And the scene in the bridal boutique, was, indeed, gratuitous.

I got a little nostalgic during the film for the old John Hughes movies of my youth. Funny, relevant, and full of the kind of characters whose counterparts populated my high school. This movie was the same: the good looking asshole, the cute nice guy who isn’t finishing first, the loving crazy mom whose house isn’t perfect, and the really rich chick whose life isn’t as fabulous as you think it is. Even the ending reminded me of 16 Candles.

When my brain was still maturing, I loved seeing movies by Hughes. I felt as if my experience as a teen was validated by an adult who got it. My reaction to Bridesmaids isn’t as heartfelt — perhaps because as a teen, everything feels huge. But it’s one of the first comedies I’ve seen that comes close. Its emotions rang true, the experience of many of the characters had parallels in real life, and aside from the caricature-like characters played by John Hamm and Rose Byrne, they looked like real people.

It passed the most important test, too: totally worth ten bucks a ticket.