The Big Wedding
Arriving just in time to prove that Robert De Niro can do more than just star in generic cop movies—he can also star in generic family comedies—here is the trailer for The Big Wedding, a wastefully all-star ensemble piece that seems every bit as uninspired and dispassionately slapped together as its c'mon-it's-5:30 title would suggest. Resembling some sort of purgatory at the Nancy Meyers nexus of the universe (though it's actually directed by The Bucket List's Justin Zackham), the film seems to cross the flaccid streams of two decades' worth of rom-coms about exceedingly rich people learning to love.
Right on cue, here's Diane Keaton, apparently wandering in from Something's Gotta Give without even changing her clothes, and stumbling into some sort of It's Complicated-esque scenario with her ex-husband Robert De Niro, who's still semi-trapped in an Everybody's Fine-like limbo with brittle, estranged daughter Katherine Heigl, reprising her role from Every Katherine Heigl Movie Ever. To the chagrin of De Niro's new love (TWIST: And Keaton's former best friend!) Susan Sarandon, Keaton and De Niro are forced to pretend to be married in order to save face (or something) in front of their adopted son's strictly Catholic biological mother, who's visiting from Colombia to see him wed the winsome ghost of Amanda Seyfried. That convoluted scenario is somewhat reminiscent of The Birdcage—whose Robin Williams co-stars here as a zany, advice-giving priest, just like he did in License To Wed—while the whole thing culminates in a gaudy, Father Of The Bride-style wedding where everything goes wrong before everyone finally puts things right. With feelings. And obviously pulled punches.
Anyway, add a superfluous Topher Grace and a soundtrack composed of every overplayed trailer musical cue save "Born To Be Wild," and you've pretty much got the entire history of modern mainstream American comedy, all condensed into a scant two-and-a-half minutes. If only Zackham had included Steve Martin and Kate Hudson confusedly wandering through the wedding party, so sure they're meant to be there, everyone could have officially stopped making movies.