With so many countries now boasting full-fledged film industries, and so many films vying for attention on the global stage, it would be comforting to think the five that annually receive nominations in the Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language category would at least represent a few of the best the non-Anglophone world had to offer. Nope. While worthwhile nominees usually sneak in, the films themselves frequently disprove this notion, and just as frequently prove insulting to those who care about world cinema. It's hard to imagine that the poisonously bland Son Of The Bride was one of the five best films made in Argentina last year, much less one of the five best in the sizable world outside of Hollywood. But this year it could be found vying for the prize that ultimately went to Bosnia's No Man's Land. Suffering the sort of midlife crisis whose symptoms include a constantly ringing cell phone, a neglected daughter, and a shrieking ex-wife, Ricardo Darín plays the harried owner of one of Buenos Aires' most popular Italian restaurants. Having inherited the establishment from a still-spry father (Héctor Alterio) and a mother (Norma Aleandro) stricken with the cinematic strand of Alzheimer's that allows her enough lucidity to speak poignant lines at the most appropriate moments, Darín finds himself intrigued by an offer to sell to a large chain, but reluctant to accept out of respect for the past. Meanwhile, both before and after his inevitable heart attack, a girlfriend, a long-lost best friend, and Alterio's attempts to give Aleandro the church wedding she never had all vie for his attention. The best that can be said of Son Of The Bride is that it's attractively photographed. But, then, so was the Hindenburg explosion, and this packs far less excitement into its two shapeless hours.