'Bridesmaids' Reunion! Maya Rudolph Joins Melissa McCarthy in 'Life of the Party'
It's not "Bridesmaids 2," but it's the next best thing: Maya Rudolph is set to reunite with her "Bridesmaids" costar Melissa McCarthy in the latter actress's newest project.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rudolph has just signed on to join "Life of the Party," in which she'll play McCarthy's neurotic best friend. "Party" is loosely based on Rodney Dangerfield's comedy classic "Back to School," and stars McCarthy as a woman who decides to enroll in college at the same time as her daughter (played by "Animal Kingdom" star Molly Gordon), leading to all kinds of awkward run-ins on campus.
Rudolph and McCarthy famously collaborated onscreen in 2011's "Bridesmaids," a breakout hit that proved female-driven comedies can score big at the box office and with critics alike. The R-rated flick featured McCarthy in her starmaking role, which landed her an Oscar nomination and on top of Hollywood's A-list. It also launched the big screen directing career of Paul Feig, who's gone to work with McCarthy multiple times on flicks including "The Heat," "Spy," and this year's "Ghostbusters."
McCarthy co-wrote "Life of the Party" with husband Ben Falcone, who's also directing the project. Last month, Falcone told Moviefone that he was inspired in part by his own childhood spent living in a college town, and his pitch for the flick boiled down to a simple concept: "What if Melissa is sort of a Midwestern mom who goes back to college with her daughter?"
THR reports that "Party" is set to start filming sometime later this month in Atlanta. It's tentatively scheduled for release on May 11, 2018.
[via: The Hollywood Reporter]
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