Netflix released another wedding-themed movie, Mother of the Bride, starring Brooke Shields. It follows right on the heals of Irish Wish, starring Lindsay Lohan, released just a few months earlier. Although wedding movies can be endlessly fun, Mother of the Bride was haltingly boring.
The premise: Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) springs on her mom, Lana, (portrayed by the still fetching 59 year old Brooke Shields) that she’s getting married in Thailand NEXT month. Things go south from there when Lana arrives in Thailand and discovers that the father of the groom (Benjamin Bratt) is the former love of her life, the man who broke her heart right after college.
Great set-up!
Both of their spouses have died, allowing the audience to enjoy a romantic ride. Will the spark be rekindled … or not? And the answer is … drum roll … total predictability.
Romantic comedies tend to be predictable. The devil is in the details, you know, things like chemistry between the protagonists; the directing; the script.
Chemistry
Think of the chemistry between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in “When Harry Met Sally” or Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in “Sleepless in Seattle.” Pure magic. Shields and Bratt are functional, but not fabulous, as the love interests in the latest iteration of the romantic comedy genre.
Mother of the Bride plays like the director had a checklist of plot points he checked off with each scene in a race to the conclusion you knew was coming in the first 5 minutes of the film.
Rotten Tomatoes gives “Mother of the Bride” a meager 15% audience score, compared to 42% for Irish Wish. (By point of comparison, “When Harry Met Sally” had a 91% audience rating and “Sleepless in Seattle” 75%)
Destination wedding criticism
In a review at RogerEbert.com, Marya E. Gates was even more critical and made an interesting point about the spate of films built around a destination wedding theme:
“Maybe a film this shallow is exactly what this sub-genre deserves, considering how blissfully unaware any of these films (even the ones I enjoy) tend to be about the obscene privilege and wealth that someone must have to attend a destination wedding in the first place. Maybe, in some twisted way, the hollowness of this film is its own kind of criticism.”
Scott Stevens Entertainment recognizes that you don’t have to travel halfway across the world to experience a dream-come-true wedding. In fact, the best one usually takes place right in your home town.
We’ve seen time and again that entertainment makes the event. No need to spend buckets of money on a wedding in Thailand when we can pack a dance floor right here in Cookeville at a fraction of the price of a destination wedding. Your next stop should be to check us out. This website is the perfect place to start!
St. Paul’s much-quoted scripture passage is timeless: “Love is patient, love is kind…” On the other hand, if you ever saw the classic 1989 date flick, “When Harry Met Sally,” Harry (Billy Crystal) isn’t so patient, as expressed in the meme above. Can you blame him? Love IS wonderful. So is marriage. The couples we work with…
Memorize this: no price is a good price IF you aren’t happy with your reception. Price is meaningless. Dreams are everything when it comes to your wedding. If you cut corners on your wedding entertainment budget, you may pay a very big price. Okay, now let’s deal with reality. I’m guessing you’re like most of…
Do you have two left feet? Here’s some sensible first dance advice for Cookeville brides. Does the thought of getting up in front of the world and dancing your first dance as man and wife terrify you? Here’s some first dance advice that will relieve your worries. You’re not alone, you know. Millions of Americans…
The scene is tense. Families come together for a pre-wedding luncheon. An old girl friend of the groom is there. Yikes! This could get pretty uncomfortable. Fast. What to do? Why it is simple: break into song! I post above for your viewing pleasure that memorable scene from “My Best Friend’s Wedding” when Rupert Everett…
Let’s be honest… A lot of people clench up when they have to make a toast. We’ve created a nice wedding toast script to take the heat off. Wedding receptions can be especially stressful because the best man and maid of honor often put too much pressure on themselves. They overcompensate by having an extra…
Let me guess: you’ve got a well-intentioned best man and maid of honor. They know you. They love you. And wedding etiquette calls on them to stand up and toast you at your wedding reception. Beware. These beloved friends or family can morph into your worst nightmare. Don’t let them hijack your wedding reception with…