''The Big Wedding'' is a 2013 American
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
written and directed by
Justin Zackham Justin Zackham is an American and British screenwriter, director and producer. He wrote the films ''The Bucket List'', '' One Chance'', ''The Big Wedding'', and '' Second Act''. He also created the FX TV series '' Lights Out''. Zackham coined th ...
. It is an American remake of the original 2006 Swiss-French film ' (My Brother is Getting Married), written by
Jean-Stéphane Bron
Jean-Stéphane Bron (1969-) is a Switzerland, Swiss film director.
Born in 1969 in Lausanne, Jean-Stéphane Bron graduated from the École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL). After ''Known to Our Departments'' and ''The Way I Look at You'', he dir ...
and Karine Sudan.
The film stars a large
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 ...
including
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
,
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role tha ...
,
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton ('' née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Gl ...
,
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Michelle Seyfried ( ; born December 3, 1985) is an American actress. Born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, she began modeling at age 11 and ventured into acting at 15, with recurring roles as Lucy Montgomery on the CBS soap opera ...
,
Topher Grace
Christopher John Grace ( ; born July 12, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Eric Forman in the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'', Eddie Brock / Venom in Sam Raimi's film ''Spider-Man 3'', Pete Monash in '' Win a Date with Tad H ...
,
Ben Barnes,
Susan Sarandon
Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...
and
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
. It was released on 26 April 2013 by
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
in the United States and Canada.
Plot
Don and Ellie Griffin were a New England couple married for twenty years before they divorced. They have three children from their marriage – Lyla, Jared, and adopted son Alejandro, who originates from
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
.
In preparation for Alejandro's wedding, Ellie arrives at Don's (and her old) home, and lets herself in. She interrupts Don just as he is about to perform
oral sex
Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex per ...
on Bebe, his girlfriend of eight years (and Ellie's former best friend). All are embarrassed, but they make small talk, and he shows Ellie to her room. Meanwhile, Alejandro and his fiancée Missy are meeting with Father Moinighan, the priest who will be marrying them. It is revealed that Alejandro's biological mother Madonna is going to be coming from Colombia to the wedding, which upsets Alejandro since he does not have a "traditional" family, and his Catholic mother would not approve of that or the fact that Don and Ellie had been divorced.
Lyla, who reveals she is separated, goes to the hospital and, after passing out briefly, sees her 29-year-old brother Jared, an
obstetrician
Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...
. They talk and it is revealed that he is a virgin and is waiting for the "right one". Back at home, Alejandro tells Ellie that his mother Madonna is coming to the wedding. Explaining that since she is a devout Catholic and doesn't believe in divorce, Alejandro asks Ellie and Don to pretend to be married for the next three days. Hearing this, Bebe becomes upset with Don and leaves the house. Madonna arrives with Alejandro's biological 20-year-old sister, Nuria. Later, Nuria flirts with Jared, after she brazenly strips naked to
skinnydip in the family's lake as he watches.
That evening, the family goes out to dinner with Missy and her parents Muffin and Barry, and Bebe shows up as their waitress, which surprises everyone. Meanwhile, Nuria starts fondling Jared under the table, and Ellie sees Nuria giving Jared a
handjob
A handjob, also spelled hand job, is a sex act, performed as either foreplay or as non-penetrative sex, that involves the manual stimulation of the penis or scrotum by another person to induce an erection for sexual pleasure, sexual arousal an ...
. She takes Nuria to the restroom for a chat, telling her that American women behave differently with men. When they arrive home, Jared tells Nuria he wants to have sex, as she had suggested earlier, but she tells him "No", asking him instead to do romantic things for her such as read her poetry. Don and Ellie, meanwhile, end up having sex after Ellie, still pretending to be Don's wife, sleeps in Don's room.
Ellie and Madonna go for a walk in the woods and talk. Neither understands the other's language, though they think they are communicating on some level. At the same time, Don and Lyla talk privately and Lyla reveals she is pregnant. On the wedding day, before the ceremony, Don tells Bebe he had sex with Ellie. Bebe says she forgives them but then punches him in the face. She also reveals that Ellie cheated on Don with Missy's father before Don cheated on her. Muffin says that she knows about Ellie and Barry, and tells them that she is bisexual, implying that she is interested in a sexual affair with both Bebe and Ellie. Meanwhile, Missy and Alejandro have decided to get married on the family dock to escape the chaos. The family runs after them and, after some of them fall into the lake, the wedding reception is on.
During the reception, Jared goes upstairs to talk to Nuria, who tells him she has decided to no longer follow Ellie's advice (about not being so available sexually), and they sleep together. Back at the reception, Ellie and Bebe have made up. Don surprises Bebe by proposing to her, and they get married on the spot. Lyla's husband Andrew arrives at the wedding and, upon finding out that Lyla is pregnant, reconciles with her. Alejandro's mother realizes she has been lied to about his family and he runs after her as she starts to leave. But she reveals that her own past was not as pure as he thought, that she too had lied to protect him, and she forgives him.
Time passes and it is revealed that Lyla has had a daughter named Jane, as Don attaches a plaque with her name to their family tree.
Cast
*
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
as Donald Robert "Don" Griffin
*
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton ('' née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Gl ...
as Eleanor "Ellie" Griffin
*
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role tha ...
as Lyla Griffin
*
Topher Grace
Christopher John Grace ( ; born July 12, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Eric Forman in the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'', Eddie Brock / Venom in Sam Raimi's film ''Spider-Man 3'', Pete Monash in '' Win a Date with Tad H ...
as Jared Griffin
*
Ben Barnes as Alejandro Soto Griffin
*
Susan Sarandon
Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...
as Beatrice Martha "Bebe" McBride
*
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Michelle Seyfried ( ; born December 3, 1985) is an American actress. Born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, she began modeling at age 11 and ventured into acting at 15, with recurring roles as Lucy Montgomery on the CBS soap opera ...
as Melissa "Missy" O'Connor
*
Christine Ebersole
Christine Ebersole (born February 21, 1953) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage. She starred in the Broadway musicals '' 42nd Street'' and ''Grey Gardens'', winning two Tony Awards. She has co-s ...
as Muffin O'Connor
*
David Rasche
David Rasche ( ; born August 7, 1944) is an American theater, film and television actor who is best known for his portrayal of the title character in the 1980s satirical police sitcom ''Sledge Hammer!'' Since then he has often played characters ...
as Barry O'Connor
*
Ana Ayora as Nuria Soto
*
Patricia Rae
Patricia Rae is an American actress.
Early life and work
Rae, who is of Colombian ancestry, was born in Manhattan and spent her childhood in Queens. As a child, Rae spoke only Spanish at home, but learned to speak English by watching Sesame Str ...
as Madonna Soto
*
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
as Father Bill Moinighan
*
Kyle Bornheimer
Kyle Edward Bornheimer (born September 10, 1975) is an American actor and comedian known for his roles on the sitcoms ''Worst Week'', ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', '' Casual'', and '' Playing House''.
Life and career
Bornheimer was born in Mishawaka, ...
as Andrew
*
Megan Ketch
Megan Ketch is an American actress, best known for her roles on film such as the 2013 romantic comedy movie ''The Big Wedding'' and the mystery television series ''American Gothic''.
Life and career
Ketch graduated from New York University and in ...
as Jane
Production
The film was previously titled ''The Wedding''. It is an American remake of the original 2006 French film, ' (My brother is getting married), which was written by
Jean-Stéphane Bron
Jean-Stéphane Bron (1969-) is a Switzerland, Swiss film director.
Born in 1969 in Lausanne, Jean-Stéphane Bron graduated from the École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL). After ''Known to Our Departments'' and ''The Way I Look at You'', he dir ...
and Karine Sudan.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
took place in
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...
. Locations included
St. Agnes Church in Greenwich,
Christ Church, Greenwich, Gabriele's Italian Steakhouse, and a private home in the town's Stanwich section.
Director
Justin Zackham Justin Zackham is an American and British screenwriter, director and producer. He wrote the films ''The Bucket List'', '' One Chance'', ''The Big Wedding'', and '' Second Act''. He also created the FX TV series '' Lights Out''. Zackham coined th ...
and producer Clay Pecorin appeared on a season 6 episode of
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
's ''
Cake Boss
''Cake Boss'' is an American reality television series, which originally aired on the cable television network TLC. The series premiered on April 19, 2009, and has spawned four spin-offs: '' Next Great Baker'', ''Kitchen Boss'', ''Bake You Ric ...
''. They ordered the wedding cake for the film from
Buddy Valastro
Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro Jr. (born March 3, 1977) is an American baker and reality television personality of Italian heritage. He is the owner of Carlo's Bakery, as well as the face of Buddy V's Ristorante. Valastro is best known as the star of ...
at
Carlo’s Bakery in
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
.
In reference to the scene where her character jumps into a lake naked, Ana Ayora said, "There was definitely a little bit of anxiousness, but that was Nuria. Nuria wouldn't hesitate, so I didn't hesitate."
Reception
The film received largely negative reviews. ''The Big Wedding'' holds an 7% rating 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 ...
based on 111 reviews, with an average rating of 3.19/10. The website's critical consensus states, "''The Big Wedding''s all-star cast is stranded in a contrived, strained plot that features broad stabs at humor but few laughs." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 28/100 based on reviews from 32 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". One observer pointed out that ''The Big Wedding''s reviews are among the worst of the year.
Lou Lumenick
Louis J. Lumenick (born September 11, 1949) is an American film critic. He was the chief film critic and film editor for the ''New York Post'' where he reviewed films from 1999 until his retirement in 2016. He is currently researching the histor ...
of the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' wrote, "'I'd rather gouge my eyes out with hot spoons!' De Niro exclaims at one point. I'm not sure exactly what he was talking about, but I'd like to think it referred to the prospect of being forced to watch ''The Big Wedding''."
According to business outlets, the movie "was a massive flop at theaters", even though it recouped its production costs by a few million dollars. It opened with box-office receipts of $7.5 million at 2,633 North American locations, leading one observer to state, "Expect domestic exhibitors to file for divorce in the very near future." Another commentator stated that "There's little reason to suspect it will stick around any longer than theater owners are contractually obligated to keep it."
Heigl was nominated for
Worst Supporting Actress at the
34th Golden Raspberry Awards
The 34th Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, was a parodic award ceremony that honored the worst films the film industry had to offer in 2013. Nominations were revealed on January 15, 2014, and the winners were announced on March 1, 2014. The pr ...
in 2013, where she lost to
Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...
for ''
Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor''.
References
External links
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*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Wedding, The
2013 films
2013 comedy films
American comedy films
2010s English-language films
Comedy of remarriage films
Films about weddings in the United States
Films set in Connecticut
Films shot in Connecticut
Lionsgate films
American remakes of French films
Films scored by Nathan Barr
2010s American films