FILM REVIEW - LOVE, WEDDINGS, & OTHER DISASTERS

While not typically keen with the prospect of watching a romantic comedy, I found myself receptive to the idea thanks to a much needed palette cleanse from the negativity that many of us find ourselves inundated with in today's world: i.e. the pandemic, the election, etc. Add to this an eclectic cast & a director well versed in helming comedies, and I believed the final result could produce quite the intriguing recipe. So, was this optimistic thought process well-warranted? I'll let you decide.

Written & directed by Dennis Dugan, helmer of such films as PROBLEM CHILD, HAPPY GILMORE, & BEVERLY HILLS NINJA (just to name a few), the film, using an impending wedding as the backdrop, weaves multiple storylines as it follows the search for love by a colorful group of characters including: an inexperienced wedding planner (Grace) nicknamed “The Wedding Trasher,” a Type A celebrity caterer (Irons), his blind date (Keaton), and a tour-bus guide (Andrew Bachelor) looking for his Cinderella. Now, first let me highlight what works: The pairing of Irons & Keaton. Despite being provided with characters that are relatively thin, both actors manage to imbue life & heart into characters that would otherwise be classified as one dimensional. Unfortunately, beyond these characters, there's not much more to glean from the film as the others are rather forgettable as archetypal figures.

So what doesn't work? Where to begin...? Well, aside from the previously mentioned paper thin characters, how about the unnecessary subplots? In the brief synopsis above, you probably saw that one of the characters were nicknamed "The Wedding Trasher." Well, the origin of this nickname can be attributed to the said character's unfortunate decimation of an outdoor wedding following a skydive gone awry (trust me it's sounds far more entertaining than it actually ends up being). You see, the inexperienced wedding planner (Grace) takes her beau skydiving, much to his chagrin (causing him to break up with her mid-descent), which results in the said beau being dropped in a nearby lake & also causing "The Wedding Trasher" to destroy a nearby wedding. Though the beau's reappearance later in the film would suggest that they would serve the plot later on, they never factor into the film's third act. So, it begs the question: Why feature them later? Another example of this can found with the musician who eventually gets paired with "The Wedding Trasher." The schism that developed between the musician and his fellow bandmate, for example, seemed like a contrived way for him to find his way to "The Wedding Trasher."

All in all, LOVE, WEDDINGS, & OTHER DISASTERS, has some great ingredients to create a memorable romantic comedy, but ultimately just falls flat.

LOVE, WEDDINGS, & OTHER DISASTERS arrives In Theaters & On Demand on December 4th, 2020.

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