The buzz around this movie was that it was the litmus test to see if Americans wanted to watch a funny movie full of ladies. There were a lot of stories about how if ‘Bridesmaids’ didn’t rule the box office, woman-centered comedy would be over. Forever.

As stupid as that buzz was, it was probably a little true. If ‘Bridesmaids’ failed, it would probably have been used as a reason not to finance similar movies. Fortunately for filmed comedy, it’s making decent coin. The disaster has been momentarily averted.

I don’t know what people were wringing their hands about. Kristen Wiig is a proven commodity. Paul Feig made ‘Freaks and Geeks.’ Judd Apatow apparently can’t make a movie that loses money, no matter how mediocre. The deck was clearly stacked.

The movie is funny, silly, occasionally gross and kind of sweet. It’s a summer movie from the world before Michael Bay – before we got used to watching movies made by machines about machines. The casting is inspired, and there are some moments that will far outlast the summer (the toast-off is classic cringe humor, and the air-marshall bit is best-in-class.)

If there’s a flaw, it’s the same flaw you’ll find in ‘Anchorman’ – when you crowd the roster with talented improvisers you tend to get more of a collection of good sketches than a cohesive film. But, as in ‘Anchorman,’ if the sketches are good enough, that’s a minor complaint.

Even if seeing it won’t secure the future for funny ladies, it’s worth checking out.

In related news: Hey, Hollywood – put Maya Rudolph in more stuff. She’s kind of great.