After watching The Wilde Wedding, you’ll wonder how Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Patrick Stewart and Noah Emmerich ended up in a film that is so disappointingly forgettable.
Writer/director Damian Harris has assembled an impressive cast to portray the family of Eve Wilde (Close), a retired movie star who’s about to marry her fourth husband, Harold (Stewart), a famous writer. One by one, we meet the extended family, including the sons (Emmerich, Peter Facinelli and Jack Davenport), wives (Minnie Driver). We meet everyone so fast that’s it’s hard to remember her each person is. Was that the granddaughter or Harold’s daughter? Is that another relative or is it some day-player thrown in so Facinelli’s character can hook up with?
Malkovich, as ex-husband Lawrence, a famous theater actor, shows up to lend his support to the nuptials. The two have stayed friends since their divorce and you can tell because they spend more time together then the actual bride and groom to be. Stewart and Close have so few scenes together that you know things might not pan out.
As the story unfolds and we learn about each character and where they are in their lives and we just don’t care except for Davenport, who does his best to rise above the material. Close and Malkovich are fun to watch but their screen time is so short and Close looks like she’s bored as heck.
And then there’s the odd choice of having Minnie Driver sing Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding.’ She’s a singer in the film, but it’s such a weird moment: the family is sitting at a dinner table, she starts to sing, the family starts to dance, music plays out of nowhere. It’s meant as a bonding moment but it’s so strange that it’s almost embarrassing to watch.
And to add to that is the family sing-a-long at the end. Oy.
Even with an impressive cast, you’ll want to skip this wedding.
