All in One Weddings

Films about marriage preparations that are fraught with one disaster after another are nothing new. They generally tend to be comedies, they typically feature an ex-boyfriend who shows up out of the blue or a new better guy shows up to make the future hubby less appealing, and they have an inclination to never actually feel just like any marriage that would ever happen in any civilised country. So its to this films credit, and especially mythical director Jonathan Demme, that he has made one of the most engrossing and pragmatic portrayals of a family mere hours before the eldest girl goes through her marriage. Not that everything goes off without a hitch. What kinda picture would this be if there werent problems? Major problems. Crisis comes in the shape of younger sister, Kym, played brilliantly by Anne Hathaway.

Kym is the standard wild kid of the family. A previous model, Kym has found herself out and in of rehabilitation for the best part of a decade. Now shes released to visit the marriage of her sister Rachel, and with her come years of pent up fury and tons of mental hang-ups waiting to be dropped at everyones step.

Its no coincidence that one of Kyms first acts is to knock over some chairs, causing a loud ruckus that bugs the complete room, because thats precisely what she represents. She is the eight hundred pound ape, less the ape will not stay quiet, chain smokes, and is merely a teeeeeeny bit self-absorbed.

Oh, and the ape is a little bit of a drama queen.

Kym cant enter a room without making everything about herself. A vital dinner scene in which guests are all singing the praises of the couple-to-be ends with Kym turning it into a stage for her to chat about her twelve Step Program. The complete family has enough issues to form a total subscription. The sister, Rachel, played by Rosemarie Dewitt and practically takes the show, nurses a grudge like a baby nurses a bottle of hot milk. With a sister as long to her fogeys as Kym mustve been, Rachel has apparent issues with having that same sister taking the awareness away from her giant moment.

Rachel, a studying trick cyclist, is analytical where Kym is impetuous. The daddy is overprotective of Kym, which enrages Rachel, yet Kym wants him to leave her alone. Their stepmother doesnt seem to do much aside from watch from the sidelines, maybe scared to step into such deep rooted family quarrels. The girls mummy, played by Debra Winger, welcomes Rachel but keeps Kym at arms length for an unknown reason. I wont mess up that reason here, but lets just say it comes to a head at a critical juncture of the film. Demme mixes just enough stress here to keep the film exciting without devolving into cliche territory. He has also got found the way to coax each bit of believability out of his cast, who are virtually all astonishing here.

Tunda Adebimpe, who some might know from a little gem of a film called Jump Tomorrow fits in completely as Rachels future man. But it was Rosemarie Dewitt and Anne Hathaway who nick the show. Hathaway plays Kym as a firecracker, set to go off at anytime. Shes practically a windstorm of feelings, similarly self-involved, verbally aggressive, and yet glaringly loving of her folks all at the same time. Dewitts performance is less showy, but she has got a tougher balancing act. Show too much hate and Rachel comes off as somebody we do not even wish to see be content, which would destroy the complete film. I hadnt heard of Rosemarie Dewitt before, but knew I recognized her face. She was in the Awfully short lived series Deadlock on Fox alongside Ron Livingston.

Fully filmed by hand held camera, this feels like a real slice-of-life look at an anomalous event in these races lives. This is one of those films where the digital look fits completely with the character of the tale. It feels extraordinarily organic, not only a technique to show how chill the director can be. The same applies with the score of the film, which is obvious in pretty much every scene at the house but isnt distracting. Actually, the single time in which the music does become an issue Demme appears to realize it also, and the music is suddenly halted. I do not want to appear as if this flick is ideal. There are two slower scenes, but every scene feels obligatory and would hurt the film if removed. I also take some issue with Debra Wingers portrayal, as the mom never quite feels as real as the remainder of the characters. She’s got a scene later in the film that is absolutely impossible to believe.

Perfect date film, and another nick in the mythical career of Jonathan Demme.