SHMR #4: Rachel Getting Married

Rachel Getting Married- 2008
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt

I need to watch something immediately to get this movie out of my mind. I was very excited about this, but found myself rather disappointed. Despite what the title implies, the film focuses on Kym, the dysfunctional and drug-addicted younger sister of the bride. When she gets out of rehab, her family treats her (understandably) like a criminal. They do not trust her and her sister wishes she was not in the family, let alone the wedding, at all.

Essentially, the whole movie follows these two girls as they fight for attention from everyone. Kym wants acknowledgment for being out of rehab and for being clean while Rachel wants people to remember that it is her wedding. It comes to a head with a huge cat-fight in which Rachel cops out of the argument by dropping the pregnancy bomb. It is cliche and Kym calls her out on the fact and claims that Rachel planned that moment. Overall, There are a lot of scenes of unnecessary drama and most of the family tension seems forced. Many scenes ran too long (especially the toast scene) and many moments that were suppose to be funny simply fell flat.

For some strange reason, the happy couple has decided to turn their interracial marriage (Rachel is white and Sydney, her fiance is black), into an all-out cultural explosion which includes (but is not limited to) Indian sari's for the bridesmaid dresses, a Buddhist monk, and random Latin music that seems to play throughout the movie.

Overall, this movie tried too hard to be a deep and touching family movie but in the end it just didn't work. Save yourself the $20 to buy it or the $5 to rent it. If you want wedding drama, may I suggest "Bridezilla" on WE TV?

Rating: C-.