Certain female critics and bloggers (including Stephanie Zacharek) have either dissed or gone “meh” on Bridesmaids, to which I can only respond “what?” (Here’s my 5.3 review.) But thank God for balance and general perception’s sake that N.Y. Times critic Manohla Dargis has come down positive. Because this movie strikes new ground with wit, courage and flair. And okay, with a sprinkling of grossitude.

“It would be easy to oversell Bridesmaids,” she writes, “though probably easier if also foolish to do the reverse. It isn’t a radical movie (even if Melissa McCarthy‘s character comes close); it’s formally unadventurous; and there isn’t much to look at beyond all these female faces. Yet these are great faces, and the movie is smart about a lot of things, including the vital importance of female friendships. And it’s nice to see so many actresses taking up space while making fun of something besides other women.

“Perhaps the biggest, most pleasurable surprise is that Bridesmaids doesn’t treat the status of [Kristin Wiig‘s] Annie as a dire character flaw worthy of triage: she’s simply going through a rough patch and has to figure things out, as in real life.”

As we speak Bridesmaids has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating and a 74% approval on Metacritic. Wait…74%?

EW‘s Owen Gleiberman calls Wiig’s Annie “an Everywoman you can believe in, showcased in the kind of deft comedy of feminine passion — where deep despair meets Wilson Phillips — that a great many people have been waiting for. Now that Wiig and company have built it, will they come?”