Kenneth R Frank's MY SISTER'S WEDDING both thrills me and makes me frustrated. I think this is by far his best film (both as writer and director). Its a funny film about a young woman trying to survive the titled event. Its a magnificently written film that has a lot of "ah ha" moments of recognition. At the same time it's a hairs breadth from being a truly great film and that bothers me.
The film follows Allison on the day of her sister's wedding. Trying to sleep in, she finds that the landscaper is using power tools at 6am. It seems the major domo is trying to get everything on track as early as possible because Allison's parents are so demanding. The day that follows is fraught with unexpected twists and turns as Allison tries to deal with the wedding, quit the family business and deal with all the members of her needy family who have their own agendas.
MY SISTER'S WEDDING is a funny funny film. Its a film that takes a wedding and turns it into high comedy, while often keeping things close enough to reality that we see our own friends and family in the events playing out. I laughed and groaned at seeing how certain events mirrored ones in my own life.
If I am to quibble, and I will, forgive me, I find the choice to lean a bit too much into the comedy a misstep. As good as this film is it could have used a few moments where things were not being played for laughs. The choice is purely the director's since Frank has written a script that walks the the fine line where many sequences can be played as either comedy or drama depending upon how one chooses to shade it. Frank's script compares to Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing which I first read as serious drama and thought it was brilliant, only to see it a short time later on Broadway where is was played as a comedy to differing results. The same script could go either way. MY SISTER'S WEDDING screenplay feels the same way, it could be considered a comedy or a drama or both depending upon presentation. My feeling is that the film's presentation should have had a bit more seriousness because the subject matter ultimately, as all of Frank's scripts, has much more bite than it seems.
Honestly I think Kenneth R Frank needs to make a family drama... or perhaps not because he sense of family might make the film difficult to watch in the best possible way. Yes, I know that's an odd thing to say in the review of a comedy but this film and Frank's earlier FAMILY OBLIGATIONS shows he has finger on the pulse of the human condition in the way few writers ever manage.
My quibble about seriousness aside, MY SISTER'S WEDDING rocks. Its a film that will have you laughing from start to finish.
Recommended.
The film screens Friday, Dec 2 at 3:30 pm at the Port Richey Cinema 6. It’s kind of the second half of an In the Garage Double Feature, with the production company's award winning UFO CLUB playing before it in the same theater at 2:05pm. (Though there is a separate admission charge for UFO CLUB)
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