The Big Wedding
Starring: Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams, Ben Barnes, Christine Ebersole, David Rasche, Patricia Rae, Ana Ayora
Directed by Justin Zackham
Rated: R
Run Time: 90 mins
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Sci-Fi
Opens April 26th
By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com
Another film opening this week is the unexpected comedy “The Big Wedding” featuring a big cast, big laughs and a few surprises.
Don (Robert DeNiro) and Ellie (Diane Keaton) were married for over 20 years but have spent the past decade divorced, living their own lives. Don moved on to Ellie’s ex-best friend Bebe (Susan Sarandon) while Ellie traveled the world, having life changing experiences. The only reason to bring the two exes together again is for their adopted son Alejandro’s (Ben Barnes) wedding to his fiancée Missy (Amanda Seyfried).
The wedding is the event of the summer and relative from all over are coming to town such as sister Lyla (Katherine Heigl), also, not on speaking terms with her father Don; the prodigal doctor son, Jared (Topher Grace) whose love life has been stuck in the starting gates, so to say. Yet after a meeting with the priest officiating the ceremony, Father Moinighan (Robin Williams), Alejandro goes into panic mode because he realizes that his adopted family may not be accepted by his conservative, religious Columbian birth mother Madonna (Patricia Rae). After his big revelation, he asks his adopted parent to “pretend” that they are still together to gain his birth mother’s blessing over the union.
The request doesn’t sit too well with Bebe, Don and Ellie, causing more drama than necessary but they all agree to the shenanigans for the weekend. Once Madonna rolls into town with birth sister Nuria (Ana Ayora) in tow, tensions, sexual and relationships, are astronomically high, leaving the remaining characters in compromising situations. Will Alejandro and Missy make it down the aisle or will all the drama end the wedding before it even begins?
There is a certain amount of drama that follows weddings around, but in “The Big Wedding” this family is dysfunctional entertainment at its best. It was rather enjoyable to see season actors such as De Niro, Sarandon and Keaton are placed in ridiculous, raunchy situations that are normally reserved for younger actors, yet done with a touch of class. The cast as a whole was well selected as each actor was well-suited for their respective role. There are more surprises in the plot than expected and lacks a certain amount of predictability that a film of this genre normally would have. Be sure to check out “The Big Wedding” when it opens in theaters starting Friday April 26, 2013.
