Rachel Getting Married (2008)

A young woman who has been in and out of rehab for the past ten years, returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding.

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writer:

Jenny Lumet

Stars:

Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Debra Winger

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 32 wins & 63 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sebastian Stan	...	Walter / Bowtie Party Guest
Roslyn Ruff	...	Rosa
Anne Hathaway	...	Kym
Bill Irwin	...	Paul
Anna Deavere Smith	...	Carol
Annaleigh Ashford	...	Quick Stop Cashier
Zafer Tawil	...	Violin Friend
Beau Sia	...	Wedding Czar
Innbo Shim	...	Wedding Planner
Eliza Simpson	...	Wedding P.A.
Olive	...	The Poodle
Rosemarie DeWitt	...	Rachel
Anisa George	...	Emma
Tamyra Gray	...	Singing Friend
Victoria Haynes	...	Bridesmaid

Storyline

Kym Buchman has been in drug rehab for nine months, during which time she has been clean. She is released temporarily from the facility to attend her sister Rachel Buchman's wedding. During her release, Kym is staying at the family home, where the wedding is taking place. As such, it is like Grand Central Station for the duration of Kym's stay, which may not be the most conducive situation for her in constantly being exposed to the watching eyes of those who know and don't yet know her, but know of her situation. The reunion with her family members starts off well enough, but issues around Kym's release from rehab quickly surface. Kym and Rachel's father, Paul Buchman, wants to make sure that Kym is all right at all times, which to Kym feels instead like he doesn't trust her. Rachel slowly begins to resent Kym's situation taking over what is supposed to be the happiest day of her life, some of which is directed by Kym, some of which isn't. One person present but largely not included ...

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | panties | bra | sitting on a toilet | sex standing up | 

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Taglines:

This is not your family, but this is your family.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dancing with Shiva

Filming Locations:

Fairfield, Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$293,369, 5 October 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$12,796,277, 19 April 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Armian Pictures, Clinica Estetico, Marc Platt Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There is no pre-recorded background scene music throughout the film. All music heard in the film is performed live on-screen.

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Goofs

A scene depicts the family arranging the wedding dinner's table seating, moving around small figurines. Kym is hurt that she is not at the family table. The wedding dinner turns out to be held on the lawn, with small tables at which guests can choose their own seat.

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Quotes

Walter: [opening lines] I want my fucking Zippo now!
Rosa: Walter, this is a behavior...
Walter: [ranking his nails against his forearm] Fuck you!
Rosa: And you are making a choice.
[Rosa's cell phone rings]
Rosa: Hold on... hello?
Walter: God!
Kym: Don't you get it, Waldo? *She's* making a choice not to give you your lighter because you'll torch the Self-Help library again.
Walter: It's Walter. Kill anybody recently? Run over anybody with a fucking car?

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Connections

Referenced in The Intern (2015)

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Soundtracks

Up to Our Nex
Words and Music by Robyn Hitchcock
Performed by Robyn Hitchcock

User Reviews

An old curmudgeon's view

Maybe this is a generational thing but I wholeheartedly agree with those who have said, "Excellent film sabotaged by execrable camera work," "Teenagers Making Video," and "Rachel Gets Married, Audience Gets Headache." When I was an engineer and again as a programmer, we had a saying, "Just because you can do something doesn't mean you have to do it." Last week I saw W. and had the same comment about it. The hand held, shaky, up your actor's nose close-ups all distract from what could be an interesting story. How I miss the carefully plotted camera work of people like Gregg Toland (The Grapes of Wrath and Citizen Kane), James Wong Howe (too many to mention), and Freddie Young (Lawrence of Arabia). As Dennis Miller says, "of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong."

I also feel that many of the scenes, particularly the wedding party, went on way, way too long. If I had wanted to watch my friend's long, boring, amateur wedding video, I could have stayed home and saved the price of admission.