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:

$20,470,029 (USA) (20 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

This film will introduce Lionsgate's newly redesigned opening logo.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.130 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Save the Last Dance for Me"
Performed by Michael Bublé
Courtesy of Reprise Records
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Great Cast but Watered Down Screenplay

The Big Wedding (2013)

** (out of 4)

An all-star cast does what they can for this romantic comedy but sadly it's not nearly enough. Robert DeNiro and Diane Keaton play a former married couple who finds their adopted son about to be married. The only problem is that his real mother is very strict and wouldn't approve of his in-laws not being married so the two plan to pretend that they're still married, which causes trouble with the father's girlfriend (Susan Sarandon). THE BIG WEDDING features not only those three Oscar-winners but we've also got Robin Williams playing a priest and the supporting cast includes the likes of Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried and Topher Grace. With that cast it seems like we'd have something special here but that's not the case because the screenplay is just too silly, tame and boring for it to work. I love the cast and they helped keep me interested in the movie but they simply don't have anything to work with, which then begs the question as to why they agreed to be in it. The problem is that the screenplay gives us so many "stories" going on and none of them are all that interesting. You have love triangles, pregnancy issues, virgin issues, speaking issues and countless other family issues and none of them are funny. You have jokes aimed at Catholics and various sex jokes but these to are unfunny. The film tries to be somewhat raunchy but even these jokes are just too tame to work and especially in this current state of raunchy comedies. There are a few funny moments throughout and it's usually the cast member's charm that is making it. The cast members do what they can but no one here is delivering Oscar-worthy performances. Seeing DeNiro, Keaton and Sarandon acting together is fun but one really wishes the material had been better. Heigl adds nothing to the film and even Seyfried and Grace are pretty much given nothing to do but stand in the background. THE BIG WEDDING has a big cast but very little else. At best this is for fans of the cast members but even them will just want to save this for a very cheap ticket or a free rental.