THE BIG WEDDING

2013 / Director. Justin Zackham.

The right frame of mind makes a difference to how a movie is received. Sometimes you just find yourself in the right mood and end up enjoying a movie way more than you ought to. That happened the first time I saw Meet The Parents. I loved it that first time I saw it but revisiting it over the years I wonder what I actually saw in it. This applies to THE BIG WEDDING. I laughed my ass off watching this. With low expectations I approached the movie prepared for something typical and droll. What I got might have been typical but the script was better than average and the comedy was well placed. A family get together for the wedding of the adopted son. His adoptive parents are divorced and the father lives with with another woman. Panic sets in when its realised that the biological mother from South America has strong religious convictions and would disapprove of her son's American parents being divorced. And so what ensues is a farcical comedy of errors... everything about this movie suggests that I should have switched off but I found myself completely caught up in its charm. It is a remake of a French movie titled My Brother Is Getting Married. I haven't seen the original but I imagine it provided a strong foundation for this one. I haven't seen Robert DeNiro this good in years. He steals the show. I cannot stand watching Diane Keaton but even she's bearable... Topher Grace, Susan Sarandon and Katherine Heigl are all effective and Amanda Seyfried is left with little to do. Why on Earth Robin Williams has been included in the cast is beyond me because his character is useless... talk about wasted talent. In years to come I might look back on THE BIG WEDDING and wonder what I saw in it but right now while it's fresh in my mind, I still giggle thinking about it. It's crude and unexpected. Robert DeNiro, where have you been??

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