Father of the Bride (1991)
Director: Charles Shyer
Starring: Steven Martin, Diane Keaton, Martin Short
Synopsis:
A father struggles with all the emotional and financial issues that come with his daughter's wedding.
Impressions:
I haven't revisited this film since I was young, so it was interesting coming back with an adult's perspective. Not only that, it wasn't too long ago that I saw the original, so that provided even more material to color my view. Honestly, I found this an incredibly uncomfortable film to watch. The trials and travails aren't quite wacky enough to just shrug off as absurdist comedy (though with Steve Martin in the lead, the antics are more pronounced than in the original), but they're exaggerated to the degree that all the conflict feels really pointless. I mean, grounded, sane people don't get into messes like this, but I suppose the argument can be made that marriage makes madmen of us all. The tender moments manage to hit well enough, but the destination wasn't worth the journey in my view. I simply didn't find it a very enjoyable experience, but maybe others can connect to it more than me. It's with that expectation that I rate it a little more generously than I would otherwise.
50/50