MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 1997 David N. Butterworth/The Summer Pennsylvanian
Rating: **1/2 (Maltin scale)
Julianne is on a mission. To wreck the upcoming wedding of her best friend, Michael. And in the process, just maybe, win his heart.
If this sounds like a recipe for prenuptial hilarity, then you're certainly on the same page as the filmmakers. Director P.J. Hogan's previous outing was the hysterical ugly-duckling tale "Muriel's Wedding," with which he demonstrated his deft skill at comedy. "Muriel" was also moving, sad, and a little bit tragic. The sadness in my "My Best Friend's Wedding," however, is not part of Ronald Bass' script. It's the uneasy feeling you get from watching these characters play out their passions and their petty jealousies, realizing that, unless polygamy suddenly becomes an option, someone's going to be left crying at the altar.
Hogan's new film is, disappointingly, a little more mainstream than "Muriel." This means, for example, that Julia Roberts, who plays Julianne, plays off America's recent fascination with the spectacle of beautiful women falling down, popularized by Brooke Shields and Tia Leoni on prime time television. In "My Best Friend's Wedding," Roberts hits the deck close to half a dozen times. The first, when she tumbles off the bed when Michael (Dermot Mulroney) tells her he's popped the question...to someone else!...is funny. After that, the pratfalls seem overdone and unnecessary, and while Roberts is still as appealing as ever, she's no Chevy Chase.
Aiding and abetting Julianne in her wrench-throwing activities is her gay friend George (the stiff upper lipped Rupert Everett), who flies in to the Windy City and temporarily poses as her fiance. "It's amazing the clarity that comes with psychotic jealously," George observes, once Julianne realizes she really does love Michael, suddenly the man of her dreams. Everett exudes charisma all over the place; it's a broad but charming supporting performance. The object of Michael's affections is Kimmy, played by Cameron Diaz. Diaz is bubbly and believable as the "bright eyed and dreamy" rival who threatens Julianne's sense of ownership.
In fact, Julianne, George and Kimmy are all likable, well-developed characters. The Michael character looks good on the surface, but does little else to deserve the attention he gets.
In keeping with Hogan's love for musical interludes ("Muriel's Wedding" was punctuated by Abba songs), "My Best Friend's Wedding" drums up a few of its own, from the irresistibly cute opening title number, to a painful Karaoke sequence, to a scene in a fish restaurant where everyone at the table joins in a rendition of "Say a Little Prayer for You." The only problem with most of these moments is that they go on way too long.
While Julia Roberts and her co-stars sparkle, "My Best Friend's Wedding" is an uneasy mix of well-realized humor and unrealized sadness.
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@mail.med.upenn.edu
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