Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very funny wedding featuring Steve Martin and Martin Short, June 1, 2005
I suppose I never saw Steve Martin replacing Spencer Tracey or Kimberly Williams replacing Elizabeth Taylor. The original film directed by Vincente Minnelli had charm and a number of fabulous sequences in it but Charles Shyer's film nicely updates the original film with some gut busting laughs for the ironic age. Shyer's films have a number of nice touches and references to other films including Martin commenting (as Banks) that he doesn't want to be bankrupt by the wedding and have to wander the streets in a bathrobe (a reference to Carl Reiner's film "The Jerk" starring Martin): Bank's character is named after George Banks (David Tomlinson) from the Disney classic "Mary Poppins"; the Bank's character's middle name of Stanley is borrowed from the father in the Spencer Tracey original and loads of other references to classic Hollywood films. This is the third turn for "Father of the Bride" (it was also a short lived TV series in 1960) and it's still delightful although this 15th Anniversary Edition is a year premature (the film came out in 1991).
George Banks' (Steve Martin) little girl Annie (Kimberly Williams) is getting married. All of the mayhem that you can imagine in a Steve Martin PG comedy ensues. Kimberly is marrying her college sweetheart Bryan (George Newbern). Banks doesn't have a problem with the concept of his daughter getting married but he does have an issue with his little growing up because, well, it means he's getting old, too. With delightful comic turns by Martin Short (as the wedding coordinator) and Diane Keaton, "Father of the Bride" unlike most remakes manages to update the material and make it work for a modern audience without betraying the emotional core that drove the comedy in the original film.
This version of "Bride" gets the deluxe treatment i the 15th Anniversary Edition. I don't know honestly if all of these featurettes and the commentary track were on the 2003 edition. I'd suspect they were and this is just a re-release in new packaging. The previous edition released two years ago was a nice anamorphic transfer. The sharp image quality and remarkable clarity evident here is a slight improvement over the original DVD release (although the previous version looked pretty darn good, too). It appears that the same transfer was used for this version and the film was tweaked a bit for the latest release. The 5.1 soundtrack
I seem to recall the extras here being the same as on the previous edition but that could just be faulty memory on my part. Either way, "Martin & Short Interview Each Other" is an amusing 5 minute, bizarre tongue-in-cheek featurette where they skewer each other, the roles they play and everything else in sight. At one point Short talks about how playing a woman liberated him in this film. He plays a man. We also get an 11 minute standard "Making of" featurette on the film with some amusing behind-the-scenes takes on the film.
Director Charles Shyer's commentary track is both informative and funny. Shyer discusses the challenges of directing a remake of a classic film. He notes that it's a fine line bringing a contemporary tone to the film but not playing with it or improving it into "a failure". It's particularly interesting to note that Shyer and Meyers both have a high regard for the original film. Hence, the things that worked well in the original (such as the opening monologue) are just updated (and, according to Shyer it took 35 takes to shoot the opening because of a number of technical issues that kept occurring). It's a pity we don't have Martin's comments or, for that matter, other cast members since Shyer recorded the commentary track 13 years after the film's original release (and he hadn't seen it since he finished working on it in 1991).
You're invited to a very funny wedding featuring funny men Steve Martin and Martin Short with able support from funny woman Diane Keaton. A delightful update of the 1950's classic, "Father of the Bride" has a number of moments that ring true for me from my experience with my sister. If you have the previous edition of the movie I don't know that I can recommend upgrading but if you haven't purchased until now, Buena Vista Home Video has priced this to move.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny and Touching Comedy, December 26, 2007
George Banks (Steve Martin) has just heard the words every father dreads. His daughter Annie (Kimberly Williams) has just announced that she's getting married to Bryan (George Newbern), a man she met while studying in Europe. While George's wife Nina (Diane Keaton) is thrilled by the news, George doesn't handle it well. After all, this means big changes happening in his life. And he doesn't cope well with change.
So, naturally, he handles this the way any dad would. He starts watching "America's Most Wanted" in case Bryan is on it. And when it comes to planning the wedding, his idea is cheap and informal, much to the women's dismay. Will he ever get with the program? And if he does, will he survive the big day?
This movie isn't a laugh until it hurts comedy. There are plenty of laugh out loud parts, but the humor is often subtler. While some of George's antics are definitely over the top and border on embarrassing, the movie manages to find the balance between embarrassment and humor. And the ending it truly touching.
And I can't say enough about the acting. Everyone is believable. In fact, what makes the movie work is the fact that every one of the characters and actors seems absolutely real. The exception, of course, are Franck and Howard, the over the top wedding coordinators played by Martin Short and B. D. Wong who absolutely steal every scene they are in.
Whether you've gone through a wedding or not, this movie will make you laugh and touch you. And what more could you want from a wedding, and movie, then that?
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Father's Love., September 15, 2002
FATHER OF THE BRIDE is a romantic comedy in a different vein. Most movies of that type are about a boy meeting a girl and the two falling in love. That happens in FATHER OF THE BRIDE. However, the movie isn't about the romantic love between a couple; it's about a father's love for his daughter.It is true that the cast didn't have very difficult roles. Nevertheless, Steve Martin, Dianne Keaton, Kimberly Williams and the rest of the cast do a remarkable job, making the Banks family seem like real people you know instead of just some characters on a screen. Also, Martin Short, as the wedding coordinator, Franc, steals every scene he is in. I enjoyed watching this film alot. I laughed quite often and, even though I'm a bachelor, found myself crying during some scenes. The film is a family picture and for any man who has a daughter, ranks up with FIELD OF DREAMS for bringing a tear to your eye. It's a nice movie to bring the past into prespective, remind one of what really is important in life, and thank God for the blessings you have.
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