


Produced by Anthony Katagas, Justin Zackham, Clay Pecorin, Richard Salvatore, and Harry J. Ufland
Screenplay by Justin Zackham
Based on the film Mon frère se marie written by Jean-Stéphane Bron and Karine Sudan
With: Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams, Ben Barnes, Christine Ebersole, David Rasche, Patricia Rae, and Ana Ayora
Release Date: 26 April 2013
Color/Aspect: Color / 2.35 : 1
Editing: Jon Corn
Music: Nathan Barr
Runtime: 89 min
Release Date: 26 April 2013
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Color


First off… is there a more generic title in cinema history than The Big Wedding? Might there be a film called The Bad Outlaw or The Horny Teenager that I’m forgetting? The title and the cast photo of air-brushed movie stars on the poster leads one to think this movie from Bucket List writer Justin Zackham will be one of those schmaltzy, run-of-the-mill, neo-rom-com ensemble pictures that might pass a few hours of a long plane trip--something like Rumor Has it or What to Expect when You’re Expecting. However, The Big Wedding doesn’t come close to fulfilling even those low expectations. This is simply one of the most ill conceived comedies to come along in years. Apparently adapted from a 2006 French film called Mon frère se marie, The Big Wedding tells the story a family wedding in which every main character has a backstory that would strain credibility even if it were the one eccentric thing in the movie.
The French source film is obviously a farce--the only way to make this material work would be to treat it in the broad, over-the-top, yet exquisitely constructed and tonally balanced way at which French filmmakers excel. Farce is simply not a genre Hollywood has done well since about 1976. Most contemporary American films that attempt farce end up, at best, with “quirk”. This picture aims for quirky/edgy but ends up as a bizarre mix of cloyingly sentimentality and offensive bad taste. In terms of awfulness, The Big Wedding surpasses most other dismissible modern comedies because there is not one moment where we believe that anything is at stake for any of the characters. Despite many secrets, and all the convoluted deceptions that the family engages in, there is never a sense that things would change for anyone if the various cats were let out of their bags. We can clearly see that even if the worst potential outcome of any situation set up in this film were to come true, not a single one of the zany relationship dynamics between the characters would be affected for more than an hour, tops. How this many contrived ideas and sequences can fit into an 85 minute running time is almost as baffling as how a script this awful could attract so many A-list stars.
Produced by Anthony Katagas, Justin Zackham, Clay Pecorin, Richard Salvatore, and Harry J. Ufland
Screenplay by Justin Zackham
Based on the film Mon frère se marie written by Jean-Stéphane Bron and Karine Sudan
With: Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams, Ben Barnes, Christine Ebersole, David Rasche, Patricia Rae, and Ana Ayora
Release Date: 26 April 2013
Color/Aspect: Color / 2.35 : 1
Editing: Jon Corn
Music: Nathan Barr
Runtime: 89 min
Release Date: 26 April 2013
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Color
★★★★★
One of the 5000 greatest films. Usually only awarded after repeat viewings, so there are more five-star films from decades past than recent years.
★★★★☆
An excellent film. Possibly one of the 5000 and certainly worthy of repeated viewing.
★★★☆☆
A good film well worth seeing. Films listed at the top of this ranking could end up one of the 5000.
★★☆☆☆
A disappointment, an interesting failure, or just a bad movie. Still, maybe worth seeing: I often enjoy the top two-star films in a given list more than the bottom three-star films.
★☆☆☆☆
A bad, rant-worthy film. Should be avoided regardless of hype or talent involved.
☆☆☆☆☆
One of the worst films.






















