''A Wedding'' is a 1978 American satirical

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

, with an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

that includes

Desi Arnaz, Jr. Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV (born January 19, 1953), known professionally as Desi Arnaz Jr., is an American actor and musician. He is the son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Early life Arnaz was born on January 19, 1953, at Cedars-Sinai Medical ...

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

Paul Dooley Paul Dooley (born Paul Brown; February 22, 1928) is an American character actor, writer and comedian. He is known for his roles in ''Breaking Away'', ''Sixteen Candles'', and ''Popeye''. Early life Dooley was born Paul Brown on February 22, 1 ...

Vittorio Gassman Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions ...

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequent ...

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...

Geraldine Chaplin Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of eight children with his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill. After beginnings in dance and modeling, she turned her attention to act ...

Howard Duff Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

Nina Van Pallandt Nina, Baroness van Pallandt (born Nina Magdelena Møller; 15 July 1932) is a Danish retired singer and actress. Acting Van Pallandt acted on television and in films. From 1969 to the early 1970s, she appeared as a guest on several episodes of t ...

, Amy Stryker, and Pat McCormick. The story is told in typical Altman style, with multiple plots and overlapping humorous dialogue. The story takes place in a single day during a lavish wedding that merges a

nouveau riche ''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...

Southern family with an established wealthy

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

family having possible ties to organized crime.

Plot

Dino Corelli marries Muffin Brenner and attends the reception at the Corelli mansion. Bedridden matriarch Nettie Sloan, mother of Dino's mother Regina Sloan Corelli, is being tended by disreputable Dr. Jules Meecham. While speaking with wedding planner Rita Billingsley, Nettie suddenly dies. Meecham informs Dino's father, Luigi Corelli, but Luigi is unable to tell his wife Regina because she is mentally unstable. Nettie's corpse remains in bed throughout the reception, while various attendees visit her room without realizing she's dead. By the time bossy daughter Toni finds out and plans a dramatic announcement, other family members are mostly unsurprised or not even too upset. The Brenners are a

family from Louisville, Kentucky, where Muffin's father, "Snooks", made millions in the trucking industry. The Corellis are an

old money Old money is "the inherited wealth of established upper-class families (i.e. gentry, patriciate)" or "a person, family, or lineage possessing inherited wealth". The term typically describes a social class of the rich who have been able to ma ...

family from North Shore Chicago. Because of rumors that Luigi has mob connections, virtually every invitee sent regrets. Only one guest (other than family members) attends. Nevertheless, Rita is determined to run the reception by the book, setting up a receiving line for the one guest and asking family members and staff to go down the line so it will not look empty. A series of disasters unfolds, including the display of an embarrassing nude portrait of the bride; caterer Ingrid Hellstrom becoming ill, then getting high and causing a disturbance after Meecham gives her a pill; and a tornado when the cake is to be cut, forcing everyone to find shelter in the cellar. Two guests arrive late: the groom and bride's disgruntled exes, Tracy Farrell and Wilson Briggs, who bond over their shared anger. Unsavory family drama unfolds. Regina is a drug addict. Her marriage was arranged by Nettie after Luigi met Regina while working as a waiter in Italy. Luigi was forced to change his name and be estranged from his Italian family for 22 years. His Italian-speaking brother unexpectedly shows up, and when Meecham reminds Luigi that Nettie is dead and can no longer impose the marriage conditions, Luigi is thrilled to see his long-lost brother. Regina's sister Clarice has a romance with her African-American butler, Randolph; her other sister, Toni, is married to Mack Goddard, who falls in love at first sight with Tulip Brenner, mother of the bride, and tries to woo her. Snooks has a borderline incestuous attachment to his nearly mute daughter Buffy, the maid of honor, who speaks at the reception only once, to tell Dino she is pregnant and he is the father. Not wanting to be upstaged by the bride, Buffy disrobes in front of Muffin's nude portrait. Dino confides to Wilson about Buffy's pregnancy; Wilson tells Tracy, who vindictively spreads the news. Snooks confronts Dino, who admits to sleeping with Buffy but says she also slept with nearly every member of his military-school barracks. Snooks's sister from New Jersey, Marge Spar, starts romancing the Corellis' gardener, while bridesmaid Rosie Bean is unaware her shy friend Shelby Munker is having an affair with Rosie's husband Russell. Muffin and Dino prepare to leave for their honeymoon in a new car, the Corellis' wedding gift. Muffin is rattled when Rita makes an unexpected pass at her. She then finds Dino in the shower with his groomsman, Reedley Roots, seemingly engaged in a gay sexual encounter. Actually, Dino has passed out drunk and Reedly is just holding him up straight while trying to sober him up. The newlyweds' car is seen driving away, and the families assume Dino and Muffin left without saying goodbye. Snooks drives his family back to their hotel. They see Dino's car wrecked and in flames, and rush back to the mansion to share the awful news. The families are grieving when Muffin and Dino appear from upstairs, having never left because of Dino's passing out. When Luigi remembers that the car keys were last seen in Wilson's possession, it becomes clear that Wilson (presumably accompanied by Tracy, since she is nowhere to be found), out for revenge, stole the car and died in the crash. Tulip privately declares the incident was God punishing her for sinful thoughts of having an affair with Mack. Luigi pays his respects to Nettie. He tells her corpse he kept his bargain for 22 years, and no one there knows who he really is. Now he will take his leave. He finds his brother in the bushes, making love with Buffy. Luigi and his brother happily drive away as a half-dressed Buffy waves goodbye.

Cast

as Katherine "Tulip" Brenner *

as Liam "Snooks" Brenner * Amy Stryker as Muffin Brenner *

as Elizabeth "Buffy" Brenner *

Dennis Christopher Dennis Christopher (born Dennis Carrelli; December 2, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Breaking Away'' (1979), '' Fade to Black'' (1980), ''Chariots of Fire'' (1981), '' It'' (1990) and ''Django Unchained'' (2012) ...

as Hughie Brenner * Gerald Busby as Rev. David Ruteledge *

Peggy Ann Garner Peggy Ann Garner (February 3, 1932 – October 16, 1984) was an American child actress. As a child actress, Garner had her first film role in 1938. At the 18th Academy Awards, Garner won the Academy Juvenile Award, recognizing her body of c ...

as Candice Ruteledge *

Mark Deming Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

as Matthew Ruteledge * Lesley Rogers as Rosie Bean *

Tim Thomerson Joseph Timothy "Tim" Thomerson (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Jack Deth in the ''Trancers'' film series and for his work in numerous low-budget features and for his comedic television r ...

as Russell Bean *

Marta Heflin Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) :István Márta composer * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), a ...

as Shelby Munker * Mary Seibel as Aunt Marge Spar *

Margaret Ladd Margaret Ladd (born November 8, 1942) is an American actress, best known for her role as Emma Channing in the CBS primetime soap opera, ''Falcon Crest'' (1981–90). Life and career Ladd was born in Providence, Rhode Island. She began acting on ...

as Ruby Spar *

as Nettie Sloan *

as Regina Sloan Corelli *

as Luigi Corelli * Desi Arnaz Jr. as Dino Sloan Corelli *

Belita Moreno Aurabela "Belita" Moreno (born November 1, 1949) is an American actress best known for her roles as Benita "Benny" Lopez on the ABC sitcom ''George Lopez'' and Edwina Twinkacetti and Lydia Markham on '' Perfect Strangers''. Early life Aurabela Mo ...

as Daphne Corelli * Luigi (Gigi) Proietti as Dino Corelli I (brother of Luigi) *

Virginia Vestoff Virginia Vestoff (December 9, 1939 – May 2, 1982) was an American actress of film, television and Broadway. Early life Vestoff was born into a family of vaudeville performers in New York City. Both her Russian immigrant father and mother, wh ...

as Clarice Sloan *

Dina Merrill Dina Merrill (born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton; December 29, 1923 – May 22, 2017) was an American actress, heiress, socialite, businesswoman, and philanthropist. Early life Merrill was born in New York City on December 29, 1923, but for man ...

as Antoinette "Toni" Sloan Goddard * Pat McCormick as Mackenzie "Mack" Goddard * Ruth Nelson as Aunt Beatrice Sloan Cory * Ann Ryerson as Victoria Cory * Cedric Scott as Randolph *

Craig Richard Nelson Craig Richard Nelson (born September 17, 1947) is an American actor in theater, film and television. Life and career Nelson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He studie ...

as Capt. Reedley Roots * Jeff Perry as Bunky LeMay *

as Dr. Jules Meecham * Beverly Ross as Nurse Janet Schulman *

as Rita Billingsley *

Viveca Lindfors Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors (December 29, 1920 – October 25, 1995) was a Swedish stage, film, and television actress. She won an Emmy Award and a Silver Bear for Best Actress. Biography Lindfors was born in Uppsala, Sweden, the da ...

as Ingrid Hellstrom * John Cromwell as Bishop Martin *

Lauren Hutton Lauren Hutton (born Mary Laurence Hutton; November 17, 1943) is an American model and actress. Born and raised in the southern United States, Hutton relocated to New York City in her early adulthood to begin a modeling career. Though she was ini ...

as Florence Farmer *

Allan F. Nicholls Allan F. Nicholls (born April 8, 1945) is a Canadian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, composer and musician. He was nominated for both a BAFTA and WGA award for his writing on the 1978 film '' A Wedding''. He is often credite ...

as Jake Jacobs * John Considine as Jeff Kuykendall *

Dennis Franz Dennis Franz Schlachta (; born October 28, 1944), known professionally as Dennis Franz, is an American retired actor best known for his role as NYPD Detective Andy Sipowicz in the ABC television series ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–2005), a role that ea ...

as Koons *

Pam Dawber Pamela Dawber (born October 18, 1951) is an American actress best known for her lead television sitcom roles as Mindy McConnell in ''Mork & Mindy'' (1978–1982) and Samantha Russell in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988). Early life Dawber was bor ...

as Tracy Farrell *

Gavan O'Herlihy Gavan John O'Herlihy (29 July 1951 – 15 September 2021) was an American actor. He was known for playing Chuck Cunningham in the first episodes of ''Happy Days'', as well as his appearances in films such as ''Never Say Never Again'', ''Death W ...

as Wilson Briggs *

Robert Fortier Robert Fortier (November 5, 1926 – January 1, 2005) was an American film, television and theatre actor. He was known for playing Scotty in the American adventure television series ''The Troubleshooters''. Life and career Fortier was born in ...

as Jim Habor *

Bert Remsen Herbert Birchell "Bert" Remsen (February 25, 1925 – April 22, 1999) was an American actor and casting director. He appeared in numerous films and television series. Biography Remsen was born in Glen Cove, New York, on Long Island, the son o ...

as William Williamson Several actors who later had notable film or television careers appeared as extras, including

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

,George Wendt in

Gary Sinise Gary Alan Sinise (; born March 17, 1955) is an American actor, humanitarian, and musician. Among other awards, he has won a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also received a st ...

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...

Alan Wilder Alan Charles Wilder (born 1 June 1959) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer and former member of the electronic band Depeche Mode from 1982 to 1995. Since his departure from the band, the musical project called Recoil b ...

, and

George Wendt George Robert Wendt Jr. (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993), which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy ...

Production

The film was inspired by a remark Altman made while doing publicity for ''

3 Women ''3 Women'' is a 1977 American psychological drama film written, produced, and directed by Robert Altman and starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule. It depicts the increasingly bizarre, mysterious relationship between a woman (Duva ...

''. Upon being asked what his next movie would be, Altman jokingly replied that he was going to shoot a wedding next. Later, Altman and his production assistant decided to follow through on the idea and began planning the film. The film was shot almost exclusively over an 8-week period at the Lester Armor House in Lake Bluff, Illinois. The role of Bishop Martin was the final film appearance by longtime actor and director John Cromwell, who died on September 26, 1979, at age 91. Cromwell's wife of 33 years, Ruth Nelson, appeared as Aunt Beatrice Sloan Cory. ''A Wedding'' was the 100th film in which

appeared.

Reception

Roger Ebert gave ''A Wedding'' three-and-a-half out of four stars, writing "It begins in comedy, it moves into realms of social observation, it descends into personal revelations that are sometimes tragic, sometimes comic, and then it ends in a way that turns everything back upon itself. The more you think about what Altman's done, the more impressive his accomplishment becomes". Gene Siskel gave it one-and-a-half stars out of four, writing "Altman mistreats us to one boob after another. He appears not to care for any one of the people involved here. He creates pompous straw men and women and then he ridicules them. It's a particularly mean-spirited movie likely to please no one". ''Variety'' wrote "Altman's loose, seemingly unstructured style backfires in this comedy drama. Even the innovative director-producer's legion of fans will be disappointed. Those already not a member of his cult will find this work tedious". Charles Champlin of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote "Altman in ''A Wedding'', for all his undifferentiated sport with the upper reaches of the middle class, remains the entertaining satirist rather more than the angry scold. Still we have all come a long way from ''

Father of the Bride The Father of the Bride is commonly one of the wedding ceremony participants. Father of the Bride may also refer to: * ''Father of the Bride'' (novel), 1949, by Edward Streeter ** ''Father of the Bride'' (franchise), media franchise based on the 1 ...

'', and ''A Wedding'' is an original and funny piece of work". Jack Kroll of ''Newsweek'' called it "one of Altman's best films, at once one of his funniest and one of his darkest visions of a crazy, contradictory America". Gary Arnold of ''The Washington Post'' wrote "Musically and pictorially, Altman can't hide his condescension. He has invented a wedding party, ostensibly a misalliance between old but tarnished Midwestern aristocracy and new, uncouth Southern wealth, but that seems to inspire him to nothing but stale jokes and complacent contempt".

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...

of ''The New Yorker'' wrote "There's no way to get ''into'' the movie; it's like a busted bag of marbles—people are running every way at once". On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of 73%, based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10.

Awards and nominations

Burnett won the Best Actress Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, Spain's equivalent of France's Cannes Film Festival. Burnett won the People's Choice Award for Favorite All-Around Female Entertainer Film and Television. Burnett was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.

Opera

'' A Wedding'' is a 2004 comic

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

based on Altman's film, composed by

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

, with a libretto written by

and

Arnold Weinstein Arnold Weinstein (June 10, 1927 – September 4, 2005) was an American poet, playwright, and librettist, who referred to himself as a "theatre poet". Weinstein is best known for his collaborations with composer William Bolcom, including the ope ...

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* *
Roger Ebert's review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wedding 1978 films 1978 comedy-drama films 1970s English-language films 1970s satirical films 20th Century Fox films American comedy-drama films American satirical films Films about dysfunctional families Films about social class Films about weddings in the United States Films adapted into operas Films directed by Robert Altman Films set in country houses Films set in Illinois Films shot in Illinois Films with screenplays by Patricia Resnick 1970s American films