The Big Wedding

Starring: Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried, Robin Williams, Ben Barnes, Topher Grace, Patricia Rae, Ana Ayora
Directed by: Justin Zackham
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A divorced couple (Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton) fake being together for the weekend so that their son's (Ben Barnes) wedding will not be disrupted by his future mother-in-law (Patricia Rae), who views divorce as one of the worst sins.

Review:

Tim: I've never seen the original French film upon which this movie is based, so I really can't compare it to that. I do know that this film was savagely ripped apart by critics, claiming all sorts of awfulness for this film. I have to say that I disagree with most of that sentiment. Sure, this isn't a great movie, but it is not nearly as bad as everyone was making it out to be. It's a decent comedy, and I admit I laughed at various points in the film. I wasn't blown away by the story, but it was entertaining for the most part. While not quite a good movie, this film gets awfully close.

The cast was the big draw, and it's actually quite fantastic. I loved seeing Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton on screen together (their first, I believe). They were fun to watch as a long-divorced couple who might not have completely moved on. They were fun on screen, and I enjoyed watching them together. Susan Sarandon plays De Niro's new girlfriend, and she's also ex-best friends with Keaton. This triangle was interesting and intriguing, and I loved how these three actors played their roles. I believed they had history together. It's this group of three that really made the movie entertaining for me.

Topher Grace was fine as one of their children. His storyline felt a bit disjointed- like it was set up to go in one direction, and then inexplicably alters course and spends the rest of the movie going in another. That just didn't make sense. Katherine Heigl felt the most out of place in this film- she never felt like she'd really be part of this family and I had a hard time believing any of her acting. She has a nice scene with De Niro here and there, but she was mostly the outcast. I actually really liked Ben Barnes here, which surprised me. He might not be a great actor yet, but he worked well in his role. Amanda Seyfried felt completely underutilized in this movie. She has talent, but besides maybe one great scene, felt like she was stuck on the periphery of the story. Robin Williams felt a little forced as well- he's played a humorous priest before in a not very good movie, so why do it again?

The script did feature a number of cliches and the film is mostly predictable from start to finish. These definitely hurt the overall quality. However, I loved that this movie was rated R. That R rating is what separated this film to some extent. With a PG-13 rating, I probably would have hated the film. However, the rating allows the movie to give us some crude language, which made the movie feel more realistic to me. People in real life talk more like they do here than in the typical PG-13 film. This also allowed the script to deliver a few hilarious moments that just wouldn't have been as funny without the swear words.

The Big Wedding is a flawed film, I get that. However, critics were all too willing to pile up the negativity for a film that doesn't completely deserve it. There's some funny, warm moments in this film, and I felt entertained for a good portion of it. This is definitely not a good movie, but it's significantly better than many people would have you believe. This is a decent movie, and I disagree with those who claim it's awful.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Something's Gotta Give, License to Wed