News tips and press releases may be sent
to editor at hollywoodinvestigator.com.
All submissions become property of the Hollywood Investigator and
deemed for publication without compensation unless otherwise
requested. Name and contact information only withheld upon request.
Prospective reporters should research our
Bookstore.
DESTINATION WEDDING:
IF WOODY ALLEN MADE A ROMCOM, WHILE IN A BAD MOOD
by Thomas M. Sipos,
managing editor [October 7, 2018]
[HollywoodInvestigator.com]
Destination Wedding is an odd romantic comedy, if it can be
called that. The two love interests are not charming or lovable.
Lindsay (Winona Ryder) does not sparkle or bubble like
Meg Ryan or
Jennifer Lopez. Instead, she is snarky, caustic, and
wise-cracking. Frank (Keanu Reeves) is similarly snarky, caustic,
and wise-cracking, with the added bonus of being a grump and a
grouch.
The story is simple. Two misanthropes (who don't know each other)
are invited by people they hate, to a wedding they don't want to
attend. They go anyway, for appearance's sake. Along the way they
meet, initially dislike each other, but eventually form a loving
bond through their shared hatreds and neuroses.
Although they are not overtly identified as Jewish (Reeves
makes a Kristalnatch wisecrack to the maid banging on his door),
they exhibit the stereotypical "Jewish neurosis" persona popularized
by
Woody Allen.
Destination Wedding feels like an extended scene from a Woody
Allen film. Yes, locations change, but the film still feels like a
single scene. This is because Lindsay and Frank are the only
characters in this film. The only actors. Everyone else is an extra.
Nobody has any lines except for Ryder and Reeves.
Lindsay and Frank meet at the start of the
film. They begin talking. They continue talking throughout the entire
film. They talk at the airport. On the plane. At the hotel. At the
pre-wedding dinner. At the wedding. After the wedding. Etc. Always,
the focus is on them, observing the other characters and making their
snarky putdowns.
Destination Wedding reminds me of that scene in
Annie Hall, where Allen and Diane Keaton are sitting in a park,
making snarky comments about passersby. Imagine that scene extended
into a feature. That's
Destination Wedding. A film that feels like a stage play. Static
and claustrophobic. Even when the locations are moved outdoors, we
remain trapped in Lindsay and Frank's company. Just the two of them,
talking.
Some of their dialog is clever. But after a while, their sarcasm grows
tiresome, and their cynicism feels trite. Lindsay and Frank think
they're so much smarter than everyone else. They've confused sarcasm
with wisdom. Sustained sarcasm carries no wisdom, but instead feels
increasingly hollow as one runs out of material and the targets become
more arbitrary. Random putdowns that convey no substance or insight,
much less a coherent philosophy.
There is a sex scene in a field. Distasteful despite not showing
anything. A real trick. And Ryder has some distasteful lines about the
shapes of penises.
A TV comedy
writer once told me that a successful romcom must convince the
audience that the lovers are meant for each other, and
only
for each other. They are soulmates. With anyone else, they would be
miserable. Their future lifetime happiness depends entirely upon them
coming to this realization and acting on it.
Destination Wedding
follows the pattern. We're supposed to believe that these two
misanthropes were meant to be together. They've been miserable with
everyone else, and because misery loves company, it's logical that
Lindsay and Frank's miseries will cancel out into bliss.
Writer/director
Victor Levin's credits include
Mad About You, a sitcom (by its nature, a talky format) about two
likeable Jewish neurotics in love.
Destination Wedding is similarly talky but less charming, because
its characters dislike each other for much of the film, and dislike
everyone else throughout it.
Winona Ryder was charming (adorable, even) in many of her early films.
Sadly, since she entered her 30s, then her 40s, she's been
increasingly cast playing nasty, neurotic characters. Not always, but
often. She deserves better.
"Hollywood Investigator" and
"HollywoodInvestigator.com" and "Tabloid
Witch" and "Tabloid Witch Award" trademarks are
currently unregistered, but pending registration upon need for
protection against improper use. The idea of marketing these terms as a
commodity is a protected idea under the Lanham Act. 15 U.S.C. s 1114(1)
(1994) (defining a trademark infringement claim when the plaintiff has a
registered mark); 15 U.S.C. s 1125(a) (1994) (defining an action for
unfair competition in the context of trademark infringement when the
plaintiff holds an unregistered mark). All content is copyright by
HollywoodInvestigator.com unless otherwise noted.