A
film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net
My Best Friend's
Wedding
is the estrogen alternative to the vast quantity of testosterone being pumped
out by the other major June (1997) releases: Con Air, Speed 2, Batman and Robin, and Face/Off. As the summer's centerpiece romantic comedy, My Best Friend's Wedding boasts a pair
of A-list actresses, Julia Roberts
and Cameron Diaz, dueling for the
affections of the unprepossessing Dermot
Mulroney (the guy from Copycat
and The Trigger Effect, who is
frequently confused with the equally low-key and same-initialed Dylan
McDermott). Fortunately, this film doesn't fall into the overcrowded category
of the traditional frothy romance. In fact, My
Best Friend's Wedding has a bit of an edge and enough intelligence to keep
it from drowning in the kind of mawkish sentimentality that often makes this
sort of movie hard-to-swallow.
Australian
director P.J. Hogan must have a
thing for movies about weddings. His previous feature, Muriel's Wedding, was a black comedy about a young woman who loves
ABBA songs and dreams about getting married. And, although Hogan accepted a
studio project as his follow-up to the international hit, he chose something in
keeping with his desire to corrupt the formula. While this movie isn't as
offbeat or out there, it defies more
than a few expectations without ultimately dissatisfying the audience.
As
in any romantic comedy, the two most important elements are in place: the
couples and the complications. Couple #1 consists of the soon-to-be married
groom, Michael O'Neal (Mulroney) and his perky bride, Kimmy (Diaz). Couple #2
comprises food critic Julianne Potter (Roberts) and her gay editor, George
Downes (Rupert Everett). They're not
really together, but they pretend to be to make Michael jealous. Because, for
the past nine years, since they had a one-month fling in college, Julianne has
carried a torch for Michael. They've been best friends, but only now, when
she's about to lose him to another woman, does Julianne realize that she wants
to be the bride. And, to get her man, she's willing to do almost anything,
including play dirty. So, when Kimmy opens her arms to Julianne and offers her
the position of maid of honor, Julianne accepts, all the while plotting the
best way to break up the happy couple.
Because
My Best Friend's Wedding features a
smart script and deft direction, it manages to keep alive the mystery of who
will end up with whom. Things aren't as clear-cut as they initially seem to be,
and, with every passing minute, they get murkier. The film has a high energy
level and features a number of standout scenes, some of which are designed to
cull laughter from the audience, others which go for the tear ducts. The best
is arguably a restaurant episode where an impromptu sing-along gets everyone in
the place to join in. It's clever, irreverent, and fun.
My Best Friend's
Wedding
starts off slowly, and it takes the better part of a half-hour before we first
start getting a feel for the characters. Mulroney's Michael is an especially
difficult case -- at first, there doesn't seem to be much there, which begs the
question of how he managed to get two beautiful women to fall head-over-heels in
love with him. The actor plays his role in a low-key fashion that's an asset
late in the film, but not at the beginning. Cameron Diaz turns up the good
cheer and high spirits to an almost-unbearably lively level. And Julia Roberts,
returning to the genre that made her a star, embraces the part like it's a
homecoming. Her performance as Julianne is competent and comfortable, but the ingénue
of Pretty Woman (1990) has been
replaced a more mature performer, and this results in a better-rounded
character. Supporting players include a scene-stealing Rupert Everett (the Cemetery Man himself), Rachel Griffiths (who appeared as the
title character's best friend in Muriel's
Wedding), and M. Emmett Walsh as
someone who's not the least bit creepy (for once).
Although
My Best Friend's Wedding is intended
to be relatively light entertainment, it briefly addresses some interesting,
serious issues regarding the nature of friendship, jealousy, and love (real and
idealized). There's a wonderfully evocative scene that suggests a moment passing by, which will
undoubtedly cause a portion of the audience to reflect on similar occasions in
their own lives. In the final analysis, My
Best Friend's Wedding represents two hours of fine entertainment not
because it offers a feel-good love story but because the film makers understand
that it's possible for a romantic comedy to appeal not only to the heart, but
to the mind as well. [Berardinelli’s rating: *** out of 4 stars = 75%]
Labels:
comedy, drama, romance, wedding
