The title of this summer’s funniest film, Bridesmaids, may prove a little misleading.

Forget cutesy, schmaltzy, confetti-coated story-telling. This is a cringe-inducing, laugh-out-loud tale that examines how real women interact with each other.

And as far from the predictable rom-com fare as you can imagine. It’s also bound to appeal as much to the guys as it will to the girls.

Take the opening scene, in which Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig flail about on a bed. It’s awkward, out-of-synch and a refreshing departure from Hollywood’s usual choreographed love scenes.

“The first thing I want to say is, ‘Oh it was fun’, but then I sound like a big pervert,” laughs Saturday Night Live comedienne Wiig on shooting the scenes with Mad Men’s Don Draper.

“Obviously we laughed through the whole thing but that scene was there to basically set up that my character makes really bad choices.”

Wiig plays 30-something Annie, a jewellery store employee who can’t seem to get her life in order.

She’s lost her bakery and her boyfriend and finds herself at the beck and call of Ted (Hamm), the object of her affections who, after a few hours of passion, is likely to request, with a smile, that she leaves.

In the midst of her personal turmoil, she discovers her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married and, as maid of honour, she’s required to dive into all the rituals that are required of her, including getting to know the other women in the bridal party.

Today 37-year-old Wiig is unrecognisable from her character. The short blonde wavy hair is replaced by shoulder-length brown locks. And like so many comics, she’s also quieter, physically and vocally, than her on-screen persona.

Producer Judd Apatow spotted Wiig’s talent following her scene-stealing cameo as Katherine Heigl’s passive-aggressive boss in Knocked Up.

“I was approached by Judd to write a script, so I called Annie and asked if she wanted to do it with me.”

Annie is Wiig’s long-time friend, Annie Mumolo, whom she met years ago at the Los Angeles-based improvisation troupe The Groundlings.

“We’ve always written so smoothly that there’s never any ego, and we’ve never fought over anything to be in or out of a script,” says Wiig.

It was Mumolo who had the original idea for Bridesmaids.

“Annie’s been in a bunch of weddings, I think there were seven in two years, and her stories sound like they come out of the movie.”

The film’s humour stems from the conversations and situations leading up to the big day – the gritty side of being a bridesmaid that men aren’t usually privy to.

Given the lack of female-friendly comedy roles in Hollywood, you’d forgive Wiig and Mumolo for wanting to make a statement in creating a women-based story, but that wasn’t the point.

“When we were given the opportunity to write the movie, it was important to us to have a lot of female roles because we know so many funny women,” says Wiig.

“It wasn’t a big statement, like we had to get our voice heard. We didn’t really think of it that way.

‘‘We just sat down and wrote characters and situations we thought would be fun to shoot.”

Keen to shun the ‘just another wedding movie’ tag, the entire cast and crew took great pains to avoid falling into the stereotype trap.

“Sometimes girls in movies are portrayed as very girlie and perfect and they’re simply the neighbour or the wife,” Wiig explains.

“There are so many funny actresses out there that to have a movie that has many funny roles for women instead of just a couple on the side was gratifying for Annie and me to write and help cast.”

Almost every comedic actress in Hollywood auditioned for the film before the right mix of women was found.

Then the cast, which includes Melissa McCarthy and Rose Byrne, spent three weeks in rehearsals improvising and ad-libbing to flesh out the nuances and eccentricities of each bridesmaid.

“Annie and I didn’t swear by the script,” says Wiig.

“We had so many funny cast members, we wanted to use them and we wanted them to feel comfortable playing their characters, so we encouraged improvising.”