napierslogs

23 May 2012

A really poor version of the Guess Whos Coming to Dinner genre

"Our Family Wedding" has some good actors and two great actors, ForestWhitaker and America Ferrera, but a horrible script. A younginterracial couple travel back home to tell their families they'regetting married and to plan a quick wedding. Their fathers, theircultures and their families clash. This is just rehashed material andno better than a poor man's "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner".They were going for laughs, and although I did laugh-out-loud in a fewscenes, most of the lines were just rude, and all of the characters,especially Whitaker's, were just being insubordinate. Every characterhad friction with one another and sometimes we weren't even privy tothe reasons, so not only were we not laughing, we're frustrated aswell.The few laughs were not enough to overcome the frustration and manypointless scenes. Even if they were going for drama instead, there isno sense of drama just from watching characters act in horrible waysbecause the script tells them to. I can't really recommend "Our FamilyWedding", only possibly to die-hard fans of the genre and fans ofAmerica Ferrera. This is a Ferrera we haven't seen before, mature andsubdued, and she at least was nice to watch.

wmss

23 May 2012

Will love conquer all when a young couple from different backgrounds decide to marry?

First of all,this was hardly the "worst film of the year" as onereviewer on this site wrote. THAT film was called "All About Steve."This one was in some ways a standard rom-com and yes,there weresimilarities to other films from "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" to"Meet the Fockers." But I find that all rom-coms have elements incommon,so what's the big deal? The big deal is that this film involvesa mixed race couple where neither one is white,in fact the girl isMexican-American and the boy is African-American,both college educatedand from families that are not poor. In fact the prospective groom'sfather has quite a bit of money,and the bride to be comes from a familythat ,if not rich,is at least solidly middle class. I see why thecritics,both professional and non,didn't "get it." None of the maincharacters is involved in gangs,drugs, or lives in the ghetto or thebarrio. There are no men dressed in drag pretending to be grandmotherseither . And there are no main characters that are white. No "bestfriend" no work buddy,no obnoxious boss. The plot involves people ofcolor having to bridge a cultural divide. Are there clichéd moments?Sure. Were the fathers sometimes over the top in their dealings withone another? You betcha! Have we seen this in other films that didn'tget nearly the lashing this one did? Certainly. I enjoyed this filmbecause ,in spite of the normal conventions of its genre,it showedpeople of color as normal families dealing with a situation they maynot like,but having to find a way to come together for the ones theylove.

22 May 2012

Tries hard to be funny....but misses the mark

I recently rented this movie via Comcast's OnDemand service because the preview made the film look really funny. Unfortunately, the preview included all the "good parts." The rest of the movie appeared to be a copycat of My Big Fat Greek Wedding ("MBFGW") slanted a bit so as to include some more raunchy jokes, a sprinkling of ethnic humor, and some random "filler" scenes (such as an extended baseball game scene and a bar scene with no point). It didn't reach the humor of Wedding Crashers/American Pie "raunchy" nor did it reach the clever, ironic humor of MBFGW. Instead, it just floundered around, going nowhere.Storyline in a sentence: Black man and hispanic woman want to marry and their family initially freaks out because of the culture clash and eventually deals with it.The jokes were sporadic and mostly related to sexual humor and/or the culture clash. For instance, the hispanic grandmother cracks jokes in Spanish about being one Mexican short for a Mexican wedding. Likewise, Carlos Mencia jokes about black people and credit scores. At another point, a goat is brought to the wedding and it devours a bottle of Viagra and humps the black guy's dad. None of it is particularly funny.Also, unlike MBFGW, the characters in this film are not very intriguing. Indeed, the father of the groom is a metro-sexual, ladies' man addicted to Viagra and young girls. He is shown sleeping around constantly and having issues with marriage in general. He goes nuts about Carlos Mencia touching his car the wrong way and using his personal bathroom. For some reason, it didn't strike a chord with me because it seemed like they were trying too hard to craft this character. It just wasn't funny. Get a better plot if you're venturing into the raunchy humor. As to the racial issues, the same problem. Overall, I'm disappointed. This is a mediocre film. I give it a "C -" because, while bland, it was not so terrible that I had to turn it off (i.e. Lower Learning; Wicker Man -- two of the worst films ever produced).

22 May 2012

AMERICA AT HER BEST

This review is from: Our Family Wedding (DVD) Witty ,funny,smart and very sexy .Just the right actor for this part. Supporting cast very good also.The groom's father one of my favorite actors ,Forest whitaker, a fellow Texan, (Longview ,Texas) was great. this is a amazon purchase .WDO

21 May 2012

too close to home

loved this movie. The message was very powerful delivered with immense humor. The cast i have to say was awesome to say the least. I guess its was so close to home because i had a similar dilemma and i didnt know what to expect from it. It help my wife and I get past some issues and we are as happy as Marcus and Lucia. Very good movie

cerule14

21 May 2012

Flawed but enjoyable

Do not pay attention to the ridiculously low rating this film hasaccumulated. It's hardly one of the best movies you'll ever see, but itis overall much more enjoyable than not.The young leads are a charming, believable couple, and you do root forthem.I thought the more obvious (meaning unfunny) racial jokes were actuallykept to a respectable minimum, considering that culture clash is themain premise of the movie.Some scenes work better than others. One involving the familiesfiguring out the "seating schematic" is quite clever and funny. Oneinvolving a bathroom is a rather shameless and unfunny ripoff of ascene from "Father of the Bride." Carlos Mencia, I have to say, I don't think is funny or a particularlygood actor. I kept finding myself imagining someone else in the part(*cough* George Lopez... or anyone else, really). But he wasn't enoughto ruin the movie for me.The best parts of the movie were the story with Forest Whitaker andRegina King, and anything with Charlie Murphy, who has a small buthilarious role. The one scene featuring him and Taye Diggs was the onetime I laughed HARD. And yes, as another reviewer pointed out, theactress playing the sister was excellent.Most of the plot points are predictable, yes, but I didn't really holdthat against "Our Family Wedding." I at least had a better time thanI've had at most real weddings. I give it a 6 out of 10.

12 May 2012

Warm Fuzzy Comedy with a Great Cast

OUR FAMILY WEDDING STARRING: Forrest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia, Lance Gross, Regina King, Diana-Maria Riva, Lupe Ontiveros, Anjelah N. Johnson, Charlie Murphy and Shannyn Sossamon WRITTEN BY: Wayne Conley, Malcolm Spellman and Rick Famuyiwa DIRECTED BY: Rick Famuyiwa Rated: PG - 13 Genre: Comedy Release Date: 12 March 2010 Review Date: 25 March 2010 Our Family Wedding was good, but it was barely good. As has been the case countless times in comedies and romantic comedies lately, it's the film's actors that save the film. Is it the writing or is it the directing and producing that is continuously falling short? It's often tough to say, but regardless of the condition of the screenplay, it's the producers, editors and directors who are the last ones to touch the project; I'm just saying. Forrest Whitaker, as is probably to be expected, out-acts everyone in the film. He is just brilliant, and can steal any scene from any actor bold enough to share it with him. Here, he plays Brad, the father of Marcus (Lance Gross). Marcus is happily engaged to Lucia (America Ferrera) and the two are madly in love. There's just one little problem; neither of them have told their parents. To make matters worse, they are both worried that the fact that Marcus is black and Lucia is Hispanic, may play a part in causing an issue between their folks. Oh, and they are leaving the country, and have been secretly living together as well, which is a big no-no in Lucia's family. Carlos Mencia plays Lucia's somewhat obsessive father, Miguel. If you know anything about Mencia, you will be blown away by him in this film. He really is a talented actor. However, I could not help but feel this part should have gone to George Lopez. Lopez is a master at this kind of comedy, and I felt that Mencia was being held back in the film, comedic-ally. He's got a dirty mouth, and not to type-cast him, but I'd rather see him in a film where he could use it frivolously. There is a pretty funny scene early on in which the two dads meet each other, not knowing that their children are dating one another. Miguel owns his own towing company and Brad is a successful DJ. Living in California, the filmmakers clearly wanted them to be very good at their jobs, because they both have a ton of money, based on their extravagant homes and accessories. It's a stretch, but - okay, whatever. Miguel ends up towing Brad's nice car and the two get into a juvenile racial spat in the middle of the street. Later that night, we meet the rest of the family and discover that Brad has a thing for younger women, as his date (Shannyn Sossamon), is about the same age as his son's fiancé. Of course everyone is already sitting at the table and has been introduced to one another, by the time the two unsuspecting fathers join them and realize their unwanted debacle. More racial tension and some pretty descent laughs ensue. Perhaps my favorite element the film had to offer was a side relationship that brews between Brad and his longtime best friend and lawyer, Angela, played by the amazing Regina King. Regina King, is long overdue a starring role. Do you hear that Tyler Perry? Sign her up! Marcus's mother has been out of the picture for years, and Brad and Anglea are a very flirtatious couple of friends. We know right off the bat that they are into each other and that inevitably they will end up together. What I loved, is that the film doesn't painfully drag it out through a series of mindless tid-bitts, only to have them end up together in the last five minutes, for the sole purpose of an, "ohhhhh" moment. They get intimate somewhere in the middle, and this was a nice refreshing turn. King and Whitaker's chemistry together was extraordinary. There are several good laughs to be found in the film, but there are plenty of missed opportunities as well. The one thing I definitely would have changed was the goat showing up to ruin the ending. Well, that was okay, but did it really have to eat Brad's Viagra and dry-hump Forrest Whitaker? Where did this come from? It was funny, but belonged in a Ben Stiller movie.

12 May 2012

Was Okay

Watch and see for yourself. Not the funniest film out there, but not the worst either. Laughed a few times, and enjoyed the cast (love America and Forrest and Regina). Not sure why some people are making this out to be the worst film ever. Give it a try.

10 May 2012

Very Sweet

This is Father of the Bride meets Platanos and Collard Greens. Very cute and a must-have for your romantic girls'-night-in showing. Even my husband liked it! Lance Gross is superior eye candy, look out Taye!

09 May 2012

A Beautiful Swirl Wedding

This review is from: Our Family Wedding (DVD) This movie is worthwhile. It is never boring, entertaining, sexy, and comedic. I loved every scene of the movie. I would love to see more interracial movies indeed. Unlike most movies, this one is original.

Lili

07 May 2012

Hilarious

I loved this movie it was hilarious, however there were some parts that took too long. Acting was pretty good, I recommend it.

DjGoody01

07 May 2012

Tailored Audience

Much like those fun little videos you made back in high school, youaren't going to get it unless you where there. This movie defiantly hasa lot of clichés, but that is kinda the point. For anyone who has had amarriage, or dating relationship, is cultural clashes this is a movieyou can relate to. Unfortunately if you are white and have a whiterelationship this film will have very little connection to you. I amblack and my fiancée is Mexican, so this movie had A LOT of connectionwith me. I could relate to 95% of this movie, therefore giving me abiased advantage. Although the audience reach of this movie isn't verybig, nor is it a blockbuster by any standards, is it a FUN little filmand shouldn't be looked over if you are in a relationship where eachothers families have culture clashing.

05 May 2012

Poor script

I'm mostly mad that I wasted my time to watch this movie. I thought that the movie would be good with all the excellent films that Forrest Whithaker has been involved with. This movies is poorly written with acting that goes no where to ideas that insult the viewer's intelligence. The same story has been told many times . . . but here the same story was told badly. Save your time and money . . . skip this film, it is not funny . . .there isn't even a moral to the story.

05 May 2012

Dull, Forced Acting

I have to agree with the others who rated this movie low - I selected it because of Forest Whitaker - but his performance was forced and very sub-par; the story line was weak, overall a very forgetable film. Don't waste your time.

No

03 May 2012

Skip this movie.

The story's been done before, many times and better. Director not sure where to go with it, comedy or commentary. Sight gags, racial stereotyping, some honest moments (not many) but they seemed to have slipped by instead of being intended. Actors seem to be truly embarrassed by the whole thing, as was I. Save your money.

james

03 May 2012

Not worth your 8.50+

Every so often a movie like this comes out that is down right cheesy. It is written like a Tyler Perry movie so you know that the writer sat down one day when he was bored and put together this waste of time.. I did walk out so I cannot comment on the ending

Sue

01 May 2012

Loved it

I loved this movie, I liked the story line as a baby coming from a mixed relationship! its was funny from start to finish and the two dad's were hilariously funny good duo of egos! the sister was funny too. I wish they had done more subtitles for the spanish one liners I heard people laughing in the audience but I didn't understand, they only subtitled some of it.Definitely a laugh out loud movie! just what the doctor ordered!

01 May 2012

REVIEW OF MOVIE

This review is from: Our Family Wedding (DVD) THIS WAS PACKEAGE VERY WELL AND CAME BEFORE IT WAS EVEN SUPPOSE TO BE DELIVERED, THE PRODUCT WAS A AWESOME FIND AND A GREAT MOVIE

27 April 2012

this was very entertaining. .

This review is from: Our Family Wedding (DVD) My 19 year old daughter bought this movie around Thanksgiving 2011, I watched it with her and liked it. . .she's away at college, so I thought "hmm better buy myself a copy" -- I like Forest Whitaker and Regina King so it works for me!

27 April 2012

Our Family Wedding DVD review

This review is from: Our Family Wedding (DVD) My wife had been trying to obtain this DVD for a viewing with some of her friends. I heard them laughing, and later I viewed it with her. It was very good.