It’s undeniable that we’re surrounded by reality programming and have access to cameras with just a click of our smart phones, which is why it was a matter of time when this combination was going to have an influence on filmmaking, as evident with Breakup at a Wedding. However, the big difference is that when some nobody housewife or D-list celebrity gets a portion of their life filmed for public viewing, there’s always some sort of press surrounding its premiere, allowing an audience the opportunity to learn about the subject in question and eventually care to watch.
However, director Victor Quinaz (Periods.) has presented a slew of undeveloped and shallow characters for a fictional wedding-gone-wrong. This is especially emphasized by the troubled young couple, Philip and Alison, played respectively by Philip Quinaz and Alison Fyhrie. At the very last minute, the pair has decided to fake their wedding to get out of being married since the bride is so traumatized by her parent’s divorce. The groom goes through the motions, while trying to win her back, and juggles mountains of other problems including a riff-raff of friends and financial woes.
The only positive here is the foundation on which the film is made, taking a very Modern Family approach to revealing deep conflicts through documentary-inspired interviews and strategic eavesdropping. We are privy to the behind-the-scenes development of a couple’s stressful journey from proposal to the altar through the literal lens of a sneaky videographer who is successful in getting so much “raw footage” because the characters keep forgetting that they’re hooked up to microphones.
While there are a handful of amusing one-liners thrown into the mix and Hangover-inspired moments that almost happen, this movie has the potential to lay the groundwork for more effective hidden-camera projects and impact this genre of filmmaking in the future. Simply, the film’s writers, both Victor and Philip Quinaz, along with Anna Martemucci, present an annoying wedding featuring an annoying couple and how their annoying friends and family celebrate an event that hasn’t really happened in said couple’s lives.
I should mention that the only reason why I agreed to watch the movie was because of the famous name attached to the project: producer Zachary Quinto, of Star Trek and American Horror Story fame. Although I’m glad that he kept his involvement behind the scenes since making an appearance would have been a desperate cry for depth and legitimacy in a forgettable puddle of a story. There are a whole lot of bad wedding movies out there that not even a big-budget flash of Katherine Heigl’s picture perfect smile or bounce in Kate Hudson’s golden hair could save for a larger audience to enjoy.
Rating: This is a tedious reality-based dramedy with decent ideas that fail to deliver and charm. (3/10)
Breakup at a Wedding will be available on video-on-demand on Tuesday, June 18th.
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