''Richard's Wedding'' is a 2012 comedy/drama film written, edited, and directed by

Onur Tukel Onur Tukel (born August 5, 1972) is a Turkish-American actor, painter, and filmmaker. A notable figure in the New York City independent film community, Tukel's films often deal with issues of gender and relationships. Career In 1997, Tukel wrote ...

. Among the film's

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 ...

are actors

Josephine Decker Josephine Decker (born April 2, 1981) is an American actress, filmmaker, and performance artist. As of 2020 she has directed four experimental feature films: the psychological thriller '' Butter on the Latch'' (2013), the erotic thriller '' Thou ...

Randy Gambill Randy Gambill is an American film and television actor. Career Gambill made his acting début as The Gentle Warrior in the low-budget, comedy film '' Foot Fist Way'' (2006) directed by Jody Hill; he also served as the film's production designer. ...

Lawrence Michael Levine Lawrence Michael Levine (born 1976) is an American actor, writer, and filmmaker, best known for writing and directing the films ''Gabi on the Roof in July'', '' Wild Canaries'', and ''Black Bear''. Career In 2005, Levine wrote, produced, and dir ...

, Jennifer Prediger, and Tukel himself. The film premiered at the 2012

Sarasota Film Festival The Sarasota Film Festival is a film festival located in Sarasota, Florida and is held in April. Its mission is "to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the contribution of filmmakers by hosting an international film festival and developing year-lo ...

Cast

*Thomas J. Buchmueller as Simon *

as Phoebe * Dustin Guy Defa as Taco *Jamie Dobie as Deedee *

as Louis *Heddy Lahmann as Amy *

as Richard *Theresa Lu as Lyndsey *Oona Mekas as Kristin * Jennifer Prediger as Alex *Darrill Rosen as Darrill Rosen *Adam Schartoff as Andrew *

as Tuna

Release

Media

The film was released on VOD through

Devolver Digital Devolver Digital, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Austin, Texas, specializing in the publishing of indie games. The company was founded in June 2009 by Nigel Lowrie, Harry Miller, Graeme Struthers, Rick Stults, and Mike Wilso ...

Reception

Critical response

The film received a generally mixed response from critics. David DeWitt of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the film "a slice of the

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and dire ...

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and ''L ...

and

Richard Linklater Richard Stuart Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for films that revolve mainly around suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. His films include the comedies '' ...

life" and added "''Richard’s Wedding'' is modest in umpteen ways, and if your cinematic diet craves the substantial, be forewarned. But the film’s DIY ethos has a heart, which makes the script’s small talk about humanity not so small after all." Ronnie Scheib of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' added, "Turkel constantly undermines the feel-good with the ridiculous and vice versa, vacillating between infantile insults and professions of affection, a duality that ultimately wears thin. Still, if the message sometimes veers uncomfortably toward sententiousness, it reaches its comic apogee in Alex’s born-again ex-junkie cousin Louis (Randy Gambill), now an online-ordained minister. Proffering thought-provoking questions about the nature of friendship and demanding crack with equal sweetness, his helpfulness and obliviousness run neck and neck." Conversely, Michael Atkinson of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' viewed the film very unfavorably, calling it "A handheld New York indie that dallies in the queasy DMZ between hipster-

narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...

and a self-satisfied critique of hipster-narcissism". Kenji Fujishima of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' gave the film a more mixed 2 out of 4 stars, saying "''Richard's Wedding'' may be admirably nervy in some ways, but in the director's preference for above-it-all contempt over tough-minded empathy, the film ends up seeming little more than an 89-minute hatefest, with no special insights into human nature to make the endeavor worthwhile."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richard's Wedding Films directed by Onur Tukel 2012 films 2012 comedy-drama films Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in New York City 2012 comedy films American comedy-drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films