I was looking forward to this movie having been a fan of Alan Alda's great work on M*A*S*H as well as an all star cast including no less than Joe Pesci, Madeline Kahn, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Burt Young, Anthony Lapaglia and Catherine O'Hara.
I am not disappointed on the whole, the movie had its share of laughs coming from Alda who also wrote and directed it, and as always he gives a very good, likeable performance, and the very underrated Lapaglia gives simply a gem of a performance as the nephew of Young's mobster character trying to conduct business with Alda. Lapaglia is the best thing about this movie the role is written very well and he is simply fantastic.
As for the rest of the movie unfortunately, it's very uneven. Alda has said he did not like directing this movie for reasons unknown but I think that is where the problems begin. I think he had some great ideas on paper and set up some great scenes but didnt add any pay off to them.
Joe Pesci who has been in great comedies like the Home Alone movies, My Cousin Vinny as well as having a great comic performance in the Lethal Weapon franchise gives a decent enough performance but his character on the whole isnt very funny and he is used to getting some of the biggest laughs when starring in a comedy.
Madeline Kahn who was wonderful in some of Mel Brooks' movies plays a very underdeveloped character here and is given nothing funny to do, neither is Catherine O'Hara, a great comic actress who steals every one of her scenes in this movie but very sadly has almost nothing to do. The movie could have been a lot stronger with more scenes involving her character. She is hilarious and deserved much more screen time. (On a side note it was hilarious to see Pesci and O'Hara playing a married couple as this film was released a few months before Home Alone went on to become the biggest box office hit that same year, and of course they only had one scene together in that movie, but given the contrast of their characters in both movies that is pretty fun to watch.)
Also Ringwald is pretty dull as a character and doesnt show the same charm she had earlier in John Hughes films. Sheedy as her sister is actually the better character who falls in love with Lapaglia. If the movie would have been about them falling in love and getting married with her character being a police officer and his being the nephew of a mobster I think this movie would be regarded as a comedic masterpiece.
In fact those parts of the movie are the best and most entertaining that I would have even liked to have seen their characters get their own spin off movie.
So yes certain things of the film do work. Alda does good at acting in the lead. I think as the writer and director, he should have paid more attention to scenes not involving Sheedy and Lapaglia to make this a stronger movie.
I would say this is worth seeing once for the performances of Alda, Sheedy, O Hara and especially Lapaglia but do expect it to be flawed and uneven. It's a fun watch once but doesnt have repeat viewing status on the whole except for the scenes with Lapaglia's character. His scenes are gold. It's just a shame the rest of the movie could not hold a candle to them.
For a better movie about the planning of a wedding check out Father of the Bride with Steve Martin released the following year after this film also distributed by Disney's Touchstone Pictures. This has some goods but if you're looking for a movie about a wedding the latter is a much better film.
I am not disappointed on the whole, the movie had its share of laughs coming from Alda who also wrote and directed it, and as always he gives a very good, likeable performance, and the very underrated Lapaglia gives simply a gem of a performance as the nephew of Young's mobster character trying to conduct business with Alda. Lapaglia is the best thing about this movie the role is written very well and he is simply fantastic.
As for the rest of the movie unfortunately, it's very uneven. Alda has said he did not like directing this movie for reasons unknown but I think that is where the problems begin. I think he had some great ideas on paper and set up some great scenes but didnt add any pay off to them.
Joe Pesci who has been in great comedies like the Home Alone movies, My Cousin Vinny as well as having a great comic performance in the Lethal Weapon franchise gives a decent enough performance but his character on the whole isnt very funny and he is used to getting some of the biggest laughs when starring in a comedy.
Madeline Kahn who was wonderful in some of Mel Brooks' movies plays a very underdeveloped character here and is given nothing funny to do, neither is Catherine O'Hara, a great comic actress who steals every one of her scenes in this movie but very sadly has almost nothing to do. The movie could have been a lot stronger with more scenes involving her character. She is hilarious and deserved much more screen time. (On a side note it was hilarious to see Pesci and O'Hara playing a married couple as this film was released a few months before Home Alone went on to become the biggest box office hit that same year, and of course they only had one scene together in that movie, but given the contrast of their characters in both movies that is pretty fun to watch.)
Also Ringwald is pretty dull as a character and doesnt show the same charm she had earlier in John Hughes films. Sheedy as her sister is actually the better character who falls in love with Lapaglia. If the movie would have been about them falling in love and getting married with her character being a police officer and his being the nephew of a mobster I think this movie would be regarded as a comedic masterpiece.
In fact those parts of the movie are the best and most entertaining that I would have even liked to have seen their characters get their own spin off movie.
So yes certain things of the film do work. Alda does good at acting in the lead. I think as the writer and director, he should have paid more attention to scenes not involving Sheedy and Lapaglia to make this a stronger movie.
I would say this is worth seeing once for the performances of Alda, Sheedy, O Hara and especially Lapaglia but do expect it to be flawed and uneven. It's a fun watch once but doesnt have repeat viewing status on the whole except for the scenes with Lapaglia's character. His scenes are gold. It's just a shame the rest of the movie could not hold a candle to them.
For a better movie about the planning of a wedding check out Father of the Bride with Steve Martin released the following year after this film also distributed by Disney's Touchstone Pictures. This has some goods but if you're looking for a movie about a wedding the latter is a much better film.