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Title: Father of the Bride (1991)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Steve Martin | ... | George Banks | |
| Diane Keaton | ... | Nina Banks | |
| Kimberly Williams-Paisley | ... | Annie Banks (as Kimberly Williams) | |
| Kieran Culkin | ... | Matty Banks | |
| George Newbern | ... | Bryan MacKenzie | |
| Martin Short | ... | Franck Eggelhoffer | |
| BD Wong | ... | Howard Weinstein | |
| Peter Michael Goetz | ... | John MacKenzie | |
| Kate McGregor-Stewart | ... | Joanna MacKenzie | |
| Carmen Hayward | ... | Grace | |
| April Ortiz | ... | Olivia | |
 |
Mina Vasquez | ... | Marta |
| Gibby Brand | ... | David | |
| Richard Portnow | ... | Al - the Tux Salesman | |
|
|
Barbara Perry | ... | Female Factory Worker |
In this remake of the Spencer Tracy classic, George and Nina Banks are the parents of young soon-to-be-wed Annie. George is a nervous father unready to face the fact that his little girl is now a woman. The preparations for the extravagant wedding provide additional comic moments. Written by Reid Gagle
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In a remake of the 1950s film of the same name, Steve Martin plays shoe factory manager George Banks whose 22-year daughter Annie (Kimberley Williams) unexpectedly announces her plans of marrying a computer system designer named Bryan (George Newbern) who she only recently met on her trip to Italy. Of course, the new father-in-law gets highly protective of his girl and suspicious about the groom and his wealthy parents (Peter Michael Goetz and Kate McGregor-Stewart). The elaborate and costly wedding arrangements are also a major source of stress for George who must learn cope with the feeling of not being the number one man in his daughter's life anymore.
Steve Martin is a decent comedian, so the humour works best when it relies on his screen-persona and puts less emphasis on crazy situations. Luckily, the movie stays pretty down-to-earth for the most part and allows Martin to create the mood with his somewhat realistic performance and verbal jabs that invariably work much better than the more outlandish scenes, such as Martin jumping from a balcony or falling into a swimming pool. However, the characters of Martin Short as the flamboyant wedding planner Franck Eggelhoffer and B.D. Wong as his assistant Howard are so grossly exaggerated that they are much closer to irritating than funny. Since the soon-to-be husband and wife aren't really developed enough to make them very interesting and Diane Keaton plays her part as the mother of the bride with a constant smirky smile that makes her come across as rather unnatural in the role, the movie can essentially be called a one-man show of Steve Martin who fortunately suits the role well.
At the end of the day, the appeal of Father of the Bride depends on the charisma of Steve Martin and the perceived touchingness of the theme of letting go of your daughter. Perhaps the serious story can feel moving to those with personal experiences of seeing one's offspring get married, but others, such as myself, may think of it as cheesy and a bit too soft in the end. Still, there are many successful jokes and the tone is suitable for the whole family, so if the premise sounds interesting to you, you may well enjoy the movie more than I did.