There are rumours that fly around Hollywood about what exactly Robert De Niro did which resulted in him making so many terrible films. Arguably, the last film that De Niro made which was in any way a good performance from the actor was Ronin.
Although the Meet the Parents series of films has created a substantial fan base, the first film was the only reasonable one in the trilogy, the others were less interesting than watching grass grow. We take that back, we would prefer to watch grass grow if we had that option again.
However, De Niro is not the only offender. Susan Sarandon also joins the cast, an actress who has an Oscar under her belt for one of the finest performances from a woman in the history of film in Dead Man Walking and Diane Keaton, who is a living legend.
What we are trying to suggest is that there are no good reasons for actors of this calibre to be working on films that are of the straight to dvd ilk, unless there may be the possibility of a Little Miss Sunshine or Silver Linings Playbook (De Niro played De Niro) on your hands. Whatever respect that have created for themselves in Hollywood with roles from their earlier years is being buried in a box along with our childhoods.
That said, The Big Wedding is not entirely terrible, although we are really clutching at straws to find anything original here. The film revolves around Don, played by De Niro, and his ex-wife Ellie (Keaton), who have a modern,quirky sort of relationship. Following their divorce Don moved on with Ellie’s best friend Bebe (Sarandon) but now that their adopted son Alejandro is tying the knot, Ellie and Don need to pretend they are still married so as not to offend their son’s biological mother.
The film also follows the sub-plots of their children’s lives, Lyla (Heigl) who is having some difficulties in her own marriage and Jared (Topher Grace) who is just trying to find a girlfriend. Add to that, Alejandro’s soon-to-be wife Missy (Amanda Seyfried) and the complicated relationship with her parents and you have a typical family wedding really.
The problems The Big Wedding has are not unique to this genre, mainly the entire production is completely unoriginal; there is nothing here that you haven’t seen before. The actors we mentioned at the start are infinitely better than this so it is difficult to understand their involvement, besides the pay check at the end.
As well as this, Heigl is, as per usual, completely unlikable. In fact, it is very difficult to stretch your mind to believe that this a real family at all as there is no real chemistry between the cast.
Save some time, rent the Wedding Crashers.
