Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Kinda Pregnant.Amy Schumer is in top form in her latest feature-length comic role of this week’s straight-to-Netflix hitKinda Pregnant. The movie is already heading to the top of Netflix’s global chart, and for good reason. Schumer’s knack for physical humor and razor-sharp delivery is complemented perfectly by the overweening exhibitionism of mother-to-be Shirley, the movie’s antagonist. Played with scenery-chewing aplomb by Gen V supe Lizzie Broadway, Shirley is the archetypal nemesis for a female-led buddy comedy.

Shirley appears hellbent on stealing Lainy’s (Schumer) best friend Kate (Jillian Bell) away from her but by the nicest possible means. Every backhanded compliment and showy gesture of kindly condescension that Shirley aims in Lainy’s direction is laced with poison. In this way, she inevitably draws comparisons with the infuriatingly imperious Helen Harris III, from the classic 2011 comedy Bridesmaids, which starred Rose Byrne as Helen, alongside Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy.

They Play The Same Role In The Protagonist’s Story

Annie and Helen from Bridesmaids

Shirley and Helen rub their respective protagonists wrong in all the same ways; they unceremoniously barge Lainy and Wiig’s Bridesmaids character Annie out of the way to steal their childhood best friends. In Bridesmaids, Helen seeks to rob Annie of her role as maid of honor at her best friend’s wedding, while in Schumer’s new movie, Shirley looks to take Lainy’s place as Kate’s best friend by virtue of being her pregnancy buddy. To make matters worse, Kinda Pregnant‘sLainy lost her mom at a young age and is especially touchy about motherhood.

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In both films, the tension between Schumer and Wiig’s central characters and their rivals reachesa crescendo at parties Shirley and Helen are holding for their new best friends. In Kinda Pregnant, Lainy ends up ruining the baby shower that Shirley has put on for herself and Kate. In Bridesmaids, Annie destroys the engagement party that Helen is hosting. It takes another bridesmaid, Melissa McCarthy’s Megan, to snap Annie out of her subsequent malaise. On the other hand, Kinda Pregnant‘s Kate is the one who makes things right with her true best friend Lainy.

Both Shirley & Helen Are Perfect Villains For A Female Buddy Comedy

They’re Flawed Characters But Ultimately Created By Social Pressure On Women

Kinda-Pregnant-Lainy-Kate-Shirley

The depiction of both Shirley and Helen as villains in Kinda Pregnant and Bridesmaids works so well because the crime they commit is the cardinal sin of sisterhood. They aggressively undermine friendships between other women, under the guise of offering support to one of them, to sabotage and exclude the other. It’s the ultimate affront to female solidarity, particularly in the context of rom-com storylines where a united front of womanhood is most needed, in the buildup to a wedding and during pregnancy.

At the same time, these characters aren’t portrayed as evil caricatures but as human beings. They’re real women with understandable flaws that stem from their own insecurities and the pressures placed on them by society. Their fundamental humanity keeps the animosity they share with their rivals relatively light, leaving Kinda Pregnant and Bridesmaids plenty of room to focus on comedy.

They both work perfectly as buddy comedy villains precisely because neither of them is really villainous.

Bridesmaids does a better job of portraying Helen as a sympathetic character than Kinda Pregnantdoes with Shirley, whose humanity is conveyed through a single word of remorse and a split-second shot in the movie’s closing scene. Nevertheless, they both work perfectly as buddy comedy villains precisely because neither of them is really villainous. They’re just flawed human beings who come to make peace with their respective rivals eventually, rounding out the happy endings the protagonists deserve.

Kinda Pregnant – Poster

Kinda Pregnant

Lainy, envious of her best friend’s pregnancy, dons a false pregnant belly and unexpectedly meets her ideal partner.

Release Date  February 5, 2025

Rating  R

Runtime  97 Minutes

Cast  Urzila Carlson, Lizze Broadway, Francis Benhamou, Chris Geere, Brianne Howey, Jillian Bell, Joel David Moore, Damon Wayans Jr., Amy Schumer, Will Forte, Alex Moffat

Director  Tyler Spindel

Writers  Julie Paiva, Amy Schumer

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Bridesmaids Movie Poster© Provided by ScreenRant

Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids follows Annie (Kristen Wiig), a perpetual underachiever in her thirties who is asked to serve as maid of honor for her friend Lillian’s (Maya Rudolph) wedding. After a string of misfortunes leaves Annie feeling inferior to bridesmaid Helen, she begins questioning her life and her friendship with Lillian. Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, and Chris O’Dowd also star.

Release Date  May 13, 2011

Rating  R

Runtime  125 minutes

Cast  Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Maya Rudolph, Ellie Kemper

Director  Paul Feig

Writers  Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

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Shirley appears hellbent on stealing Lainy’s (Schumer) best friend Kate (Jillian Bell) away from her but by the nicest possible means. Every backhanded compliment and showy gesture of kindly condescension that Shirley aims in Lainy’s direction is laced with poison. In this way, she inevitably draws comparisons with the infuriatingly imperious Helen Harris III, from the classic 2011 comedy Bridesmaids, which starred Rose Byrne as Helen, alongside Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy.