Monday, August 26, 2013

Movie Review - The Big Wedding

Wedding bells are ringing in the Griffin family. Ellie Girffin (Diane Keaton) returns back to the home where she and her no ex-husband Don (Robert De Niro) raised their family. Ellie and Don were married for 20 years and have three children, a son Jared (Topher Grace), their daughter Lyla (Katherine Heigl), and their adopted son Alejandro (Ben Barnes). Now separated for 10 years, Don is in a long term relationship with Ellie's former best friend Bebe (Sarandon).

It's the first time the three have seen each other since the split but Alejandro's weeding has brought them back under one roof. Though there are clear differences and family tension between the gang, they all prepare for a relaxing and romantic weekend. That is until Alejandro realizes that his biological mother from Columbia will be attending the wedding and due to he strict Catholic upbringing sees divorce as a horrible sin. Ellie and Don are asked by their song to pretend for the weekend that they are still married so that his mother doesn't discover that he's been lying to her for years. Robin Williams and Amanda Seyfried round out the all star cast.

The Big Wedding is made up of a lot of different components - some working better than others. The films strength is obviously in it's star filled cast. Diane Keaton especially gives a strong performance and I found her scenes offering the most laughs. Her on screen chemistry with Susan Saradon is great in this movie as they play estranged best friends.There are also a few great father and daughter moments between Robert De Niro and Katherine Heigl that I found to be one of the strengths of the movie.

All in all I can't credit The Big Wedding with being a bad movie. It's a lighthearted comedy, with a couple heart to heart moments, that delivers a few laughs along the way. There is an old saying in Hollywood that goes, you can't make a great movie out of a bad script but you can make a bad movie out of a great script. The expression holds true when it comes to The Big Wedding. The script is often predictable and there are a few too many story lines that don't really need to be told. I couldn't help but feel like this movie should have been so much more given the marquee names in the credits. The Big Wedding isn't quite a home run, but it's star filled cast and their great performances helped keep this film enjoyable for me and give it my recommendation. The Big Wedding is no available on DVD and Bluray. Click here to watch the trailer for the film.

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