Renting this video, I broke a hard and fast rule: never see a movie that's described as `heartwarming,' or which has `Marriage' or `Wedding' as part of the title. I had recently seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which was such a big exception to the rule I thought I'd give this one a shot, especially since Ebert and Roeper had given it two big thumbs up. But this flick reaffirmed the correctness of my rule.
There are many things about this film that make it contrived, mawkish, saccharine and silly, but one thing in particular stands out as particularly egregious: right in the middle of the frenzied wedding preparations, while everyone is bubbly with joy, love and forgiveness just bursting to sing and dance and eat marigolds at the drop of a hat the plot meanders, very awkwardly, into the issue of childhood sexual abuse. The entire film is disjointed, with abrupt transitions that feel premature. But this is totally out of place.
As best I can tell, the reason for these disgustingly shallow scenes is to change the viewer's attitude towards the father of the bride, who, until this point, has been rude, controlling, and obnoxious. But then he steps in to protect the child victim, driving away his own relatives in the process. So now, our sympathies are supposed to change, because now he's a hero: a man of honor and duty, we understand that the conflicting obligations to tradition and family have been tormenting him. The film uses this as a theatrical tableau with which to highlight his loyal, moral character. The victims of abuse are used as a foil to draw us into the father's conflicted world of obligations.
Meanwhile, the injured parties, who invariably grow up to be egregious abusers themselves if left untreated, are just props. Their stories are discarded like wrapping paper. So the film succeeds in defending the perpetrator mentality, downplaying the victim's pain and anguish for the sake of a giddy, fatuous, offensive emotional ejaculation, which occurs at the end of the movie joy joy joy, happy happy happy. It's one of the most irresponsible things I've ever seen.
Don't be taken in by the hype: avoid this movie like the plague.
There are many things about this film that make it contrived, mawkish, saccharine and silly, but one thing in particular stands out as particularly egregious: right in the middle of the frenzied wedding preparations, while everyone is bubbly with joy, love and forgiveness just bursting to sing and dance and eat marigolds at the drop of a hat the plot meanders, very awkwardly, into the issue of childhood sexual abuse. The entire film is disjointed, with abrupt transitions that feel premature. But this is totally out of place.
As best I can tell, the reason for these disgustingly shallow scenes is to change the viewer's attitude towards the father of the bride, who, until this point, has been rude, controlling, and obnoxious. But then he steps in to protect the child victim, driving away his own relatives in the process. So now, our sympathies are supposed to change, because now he's a hero: a man of honor and duty, we understand that the conflicting obligations to tradition and family have been tormenting him. The film uses this as a theatrical tableau with which to highlight his loyal, moral character. The victims of abuse are used as a foil to draw us into the father's conflicted world of obligations.
Meanwhile, the injured parties, who invariably grow up to be egregious abusers themselves if left untreated, are just props. Their stories are discarded like wrapping paper. So the film succeeds in defending the perpetrator mentality, downplaying the victim's pain and anguish for the sake of a giddy, fatuous, offensive emotional ejaculation, which occurs at the end of the movie joy joy joy, happy happy happy. It's one of the most irresponsible things I've ever seen.
Don't be taken in by the hype: avoid this movie like the plague.