Two 'Weddings' and a Faction

Michael and I saw "Rachel Getting Married" over the weekend. With the very talented and likeable Anne Hathaway generating mega Oscar buzz and Jonathan Demme directing (whether he disowned it or not, "Swing Shift" is one of my all-time faves, as is "Something Wild") -- plus a script lifted from a juicy episode of "Intervention," I figured it was shoo-in to be my latest "favorite movie ever." Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. While the performances were good, the script left me severely underwhelmed. Lacking the intensity or drama of "Ordinary People" (while still maintaining the tragedy) and missing any of the humor of "The Opposite of Sex" or "The Squid and the Whale" it was like all the worst parts of family and none of the joys.

The sibling rivalry was something we've seen in dozens of other films, and the cold mother (in a perfect "comeback" role for Debra Winger) is so unfleshed out that it would have been better left on the cutting room floor. The dialogue was very uneven and would jump from being honest and real to cringe-inducingly forced. I guess Demme is culpable here too: who else can you fault for letting a scene about loading the dishwasher drag on for 25 minutes or filming a wedding reception that's longer than a REAL one? (Who could blame Mom for wanting to scram -- and we won't even go into Robyn Hitchcock's inexplicable presence!)

By the time we got home it was after midnight and I was still reeling from my deep disappointment. I had heard a passing comparison to last year's "Margot at the Wedding" in one glowing review of "Rachel" (the comparison being that there was NO comparison: "Rachel" was brilliant and "Margot" wasn't, which was the prevailing wisdom at the time it came out), then I remembered that I'd gotten that DVD for my birthday and had yet to watch it. So I let Michael sleep in the bedroom and Larry and I popped the disc into the player in the living room and -- would you believe it -- I ended up seeing my next "favorite movie ever" that night after all. It wasn't until halfway through that I remembered that there was a reason: A. My brother would have bought me a movie, and B. Why I was LOVING every second of this quirky family saga. The answer? Noah Baumbach, writer/director of my aforementioned fave family drama, "The Squid and the Whale." With his affinity for Manhattan, tennis and Blondie, plus his late '60s birth date and broken home status, I think Baumbach knows exactly how to hit my sweet spot. While my family isn't exactly part of the New York literary scene, and Mom may not be a Village Voice critic, she could certainly give Georgia Brown a run for her money in the acid-tongue-comeback department, especially when it comes to putting her hubby in his place, and I suspect this is why I feel so "at home" watching Noah's films. (I just ordered cheap used DVDs of "Kicking and Screaming" and "Highball" when I discovered last night my local video store didn't carry either.)

Unlike "Rachel," Nicole Kidman (whom I don't generally even like) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (whom I always adore) have a relationship that is nuanced, layered and felt very real to me. The brilliant supporting cast of Jack Black as Leigh's hapless fiance and Zane Pais as Kidman's son, Claude, -- plus the neighbors subplot -- round out the picture nicely. The dialogue between all of these people not only rings true, it captures all that is involved in family dynamics, from love and anger, to joy and disappointment. At the end of the day, being a member of family isn't easy. But it's the best arrangement life has to offer. "Margot" reminds us of this, while "Rachel" makes you wanna cut off all familial ties and change your number. The critics can say what they want about the merits of two films, but I completely disagree.