Every Friday, after a long week at work, I look forward to a good movie to unwind from the week. The Big Wedding stocks a stellar cast of stars who will keep you laughing throughout the flick. So often I turn on a mediocre movie only to be frustrated feeling my reprieve time had been stolen by some Hollywood director. Here, there are no such worries as I view each flick before presenting you the best.
The melding of two families with differing beliefs, traditions, and desires to create a memorable wedding day is never an easy task, but when the families involved are polar opposites on virtually every subject, there are bound to be some major disagreements. Adopted son Alejandro (Ben Barnes) was raised by American couple Ellie (Diane Keaton) and Don (Robert De Niro) with two siblings in a not-even-remotely religious family, but his fiancée Missy's (Amanda Seyfried) parents (Christine Ebersole and David Rasche) are strict Catholics, as is Alejandro's birth mother (Patricia Rae). Meeting with Catholic priest Father Moinighan (Robin Williams) before the ceremony is awkward enough, but it turns out that the couple's discomfort is just beginning. Because Alejandro's biological mother believes divorce to be a mortal sin, Alejandro has never told her that his adopted parents divorced, and he begs them to pretend that they're still married for the duration of the wedding weekend. Ellie and Don reluctantly agree, and that sends Don's long-term, live-in girlfriend (Susan Sarandon) away in a huff, even though she's done most of the wedding planning and is scheduled to cater the event. Alejandro's successful lawyer sister Lyla (Katherine Heigl) arrives recently having separated from her husband and hiding an important secret from her family, and doctor brother Jared (Topher Grace) has his own problems that stem from a childhood promise that he just can't seem to move past. Add in some dark secrets held by the bride's parents, the groom's parents, and Alejandro's biological mother, and the stage is set for an epic explosion. Everything from faith to lack of fidelity, race, celibacy, sexual orientation, and even plastic surgery become fodder for an all-too-public airing of grievances that threatens to derail the wedding and every relationship in both families. Love, it turns out, is much more complicated than any had imagined. There are plenty of movies about big wedding stress and this one is no funnier, or more serious, than any of the others, but the film features a great cast and is an entertaining enough way to spend an hour and a half. --Tami Horiuchi, amazon.com
The melding of two families with differing beliefs, traditions, and desires to create a memorable wedding day is never an easy task, but when the families involved are polar opposites on virtually every subject, there are bound to be some major disagreements. Adopted son Alejandro (Ben Barnes) was raised by American couple Ellie (Diane Keaton) and Don (Robert De Niro) with two siblings in a not-even-remotely religious family, but his fiancée Missy's (Amanda Seyfried) parents (Christine Ebersole and David Rasche) are strict Catholics, as is Alejandro's birth mother (Patricia Rae). Meeting with Catholic priest Father Moinighan (Robin Williams) before the ceremony is awkward enough, but it turns out that the couple's discomfort is just beginning. Because Alejandro's biological mother believes divorce to be a mortal sin, Alejandro has never told her that his adopted parents divorced, and he begs them to pretend that they're still married for the duration of the wedding weekend. Ellie and Don reluctantly agree, and that sends Don's long-term, live-in girlfriend (Susan Sarandon) away in a huff, even though she's done most of the wedding planning and is scheduled to cater the event. Alejandro's successful lawyer sister Lyla (Katherine Heigl) arrives recently having separated from her husband and hiding an important secret from her family, and doctor brother Jared (Topher Grace) has his own problems that stem from a childhood promise that he just can't seem to move past. Add in some dark secrets held by the bride's parents, the groom's parents, and Alejandro's biological mother, and the stage is set for an epic explosion. Everything from faith to lack of fidelity, race, celibacy, sexual orientation, and even plastic surgery become fodder for an all-too-public airing of grievances that threatens to derail the wedding and every relationship in both families. Love, it turns out, is much more complicated than any had imagined. There are plenty of movies about big wedding stress and this one is no funnier, or more serious, than any of the others, but the film features a great cast and is an entertaining enough way to spend an hour and a half. --Tami Horiuchi, amazon.com
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