The Big Wedding
Justin Zackham
The story: Alejandro (Ben Barnes) is getting married to Missy (Amanda Seyfried) and the guest list includes his divorced adoptive parents, Don (Robert De Niro) and Ellie (Diane Keaton), as well as Don’s current partner Bebe (Susan Sarandon). Also attending are his Colombian Catholic biological mother Madonna (Patricia Rae) and sultry birth sister Nuria (Ana Ayora). The catch: Don and Ellie have to pretend they are still married in order not to offend Madonna’s conservative sensitivities. A remake of the French film My Brother Is Getting Married (2006).

Going by the movies made about weddings, one would think that there is no such thing as a small, low-key ceremony.
From My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) to Bride Wars (2009), the occasion has to be big, bold and brash. And there has to be mayhem as one crisis after another unfolds, though everything gets neatly tied up by the time we get to “I do”.
The Big Wedding does not stray from the template. Even though it does not break the mould, it is pleasant enough as a sweetly amiable family comedy.
Here, the young couple getting married are almost incidental and in fact, Ben Barnes and Amanda Seyfried do not take up too much screen time.
Rather, part of the movie’s charm comes from watching veteran actors just doing their thing.
Robert De Niro gives a loose, relaxed performance as the patriarch who cannot commit to his new partner and is more likeable here than in the shrilly exaggerated Meet The Parents (2000).
There is an easy vibe to his squabbling and bantering with one-time best friends Susan Sarandon and Diane Keaton as the three of them sort out their relationships.
And Robin Williams is nicely restrained, for once, in the role of a priest counselling the young couple.
To justify the “Big” in the title, there is also Katherine Heigl (27 Dresses, 2008) as a brittle sister whose marriage is on the rocks, while Topher Grace (That ’70s Show, 1998-2006) rounds up the ensemble cast as a doctor brother still holding on to his virginity.
Writer-director Justin Zackham (writer for The Bucket List, 2007) works in secrets, revelations, punches and a touch of naughtiness before the de rigueur happy ending rolls around.
(ST)