The Big Wedding (2013)

A long-divorced couple fakes being married as their family unites for a wedding.

Director:

Justin Zackham

Writers:

Justin Zackham (screenplay), Jean-Stéphane Bron (motion picture "Mon frère se marie"),

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Don
Katherine Heigl	...	Lyla
Diane Keaton	...	Ellie
Amanda Seyfried	...	Missy
Topher Grace	...	Jared
Susan Sarandon	...	Bebe
Robin Williams	...	Father Moinighan
Ben Barnes	...	Alejandro
Christine Ebersole	...	Muffin
David Rasche	...	Barry
Patricia Rae	...	Madonna
Ana Ayora	...	Nuria
Kyle Bornheimer	...	Andrew
Megan Ketch	...	Jane
Christa Campbell	...	Kim

Storyline

Don and Ellie were once married and have two children, Lyla and Jared. They adopted a boy from Colombia, Alejandro. Eventually they divorce, Ellie moves away and Don hooks up with Bebe, Ellie's best friend. When Alejandro is about to get married, he informs Don And Ellie that he never told his natural mother who is so traditional that they got divorced. And she is coming for the wedding so he asks them if they can pretend to still be married. Don and Ellie reluctantly agree to it and Bebe moves out who is also upset that Don for some reason doesn't want to commit.

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Plot Keywords:

birth mother | remake | box office flop | three word title | marriage | 

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Taglines:

It's never too late to start acting like a family.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 April 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wedding

Filming Locations:

Stamford, Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$7,591,663 (USA) (26 April 2013)

Gross:

$20,197,984 (USA) (17 May 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Two Ton Films, Millennium Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Amanda Seyfried also played a bride in the musical Mamma Mia!.

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Connections

Featured in Chelsea Lately: Episode #7.63 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Gently Down the Stream"
Written and Performed by Christine Ebersole
Arranged and Conducted by John Oddo
Published by Staunch Entertainment (ASCAP)

User Reviews

Building an entire wedding movie around sex jokes, but adds in some well-timed honest family drama

"The Big Wedding" seems to be following in the footsteps of the recent Hollywood romantic comedies – gather as many big name stars as you can and put them all in a romantic comedy storyline. It's the best of the bunch, even though that's not saying anything at all. It's also based on a French film "Mon frère se marie", and that's not really saying all that much either.

Any description of the plot is just going to read as a listing of who's who of Hollywood. But let's do it anyways: We have the patriarch and matriarchs (Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton and Susan Sarandon); we have the up-and-comers excited for their big day (Ben Barnes and Amanda Seyfried); and then we have the middle siblings who have had their time in the spotlight and are starting to fade away (Topher Grace and Katherine Heigl).

The wedding revolves around lies (obviously) and religion - with Robin Williams as the drunken Catholic priest. And it also includes lots and lots of sex jokes. The surprising thing that audiences are taking away from this film, especially in spite of the decidedly negative critics' responses, is that it is hilarious. Fans of the film will find themselves laughing from beginning to end. But to give you fair warning, all of the jokes are sexually-based, and I mean all of them.

Laughing at the Catholic stigma of don't have sex but if you do, don't be safe; laughing at people who have too much sex; laughing at people who don't have sex; and worse of all, laughing at divorced and married couples who have sex with one another. While some of the jokes were funny, they're also responsible for creating the uneasy dynamic amongst the characters – all of whom are family (or, at least, are about to become in-laws). At times the film crosses the line from funny dysfunctional family to repulsive dysfunctional family.

The one line that "The Big Wedding" straddles well is that between comedy and drama. The film is effective when it moves from funny jokes to touching family honesty and back to some more funny jokes. The story lines are very predictable, and sometimes the jokes are too simple and too wrong, but it tries to add in the right amount of drama, and ultimately, it should be entertaining to fans of the genre.