In one of the first scenes in “The Big Wedding,” Ellie (Diane Keaton) arrives at the home of her ex-husband Don (Robert DeNiro) and his girlfriend Bebe (Susan Sarandon). She lets herself in, wandering the house until the pair returns. When they do arrive, Ellie panics, running around, trying to hide nearby and clumsily escape through the back door as her ex and significant other begin lovemaking. Why wouldn’t she simply state, “Hey there, I just let myself in, hope that’s okay,” as they walked in the door? Well, because that would make too much sense.
For the first scene onward, strained and forced comedy follows. Ultimately, this movie is full of irrational, unjustified, and nonsensical actions that end up more grating than amusing. The lavish wedding involves Ellie and Don’s adopted son Alejandro (Ben Barnes) and his fiancé (Amanda Seyfried). Less than forty-eight hours before nuptials, Alejandro remembers that his Columbian mother is a staunch Catholic and will surely be offended when she arrives and learns that his adopted parents are now divorced. Don suggests everyone pretend that he and Ellie are still married and ‘wackiness’ ensues.
Adding to the implausible main plot are some odd and underdeveloped side stories involving Ellie and Don’s other children. Jared (Topher Grace) is a 30-year doctor who has decided to finally lose his virginity. He meets a likely candidate in Nuria (Ana Ayora), the sexually free sister of Alejandro. She openly propositions Jared; how he and other family members wouldn’t soon come to the conclusion that Alejandro’s mother may not be as conservative as initially thought is a mystery. Meanwhile, Lyla (Katherine Heigl) is moody and sullen, hiding a secret after breaking up with her boyfriend.
While the cast does their best, they aren’t exactly working with the best material. DeNiro manages to eke a few yuks with some gruff comments at a confessional, but a great deal of humor in the film is derived from the flippant comments of Jared and Lyla, who seem amused as their parents Don and Ellie trade nasty barbs. There’s a certain detachment about the characters in general that, mixed in with their affluent surroundings, doesn’t make them easy to identify with. It is also unfortunate that their personal issues come to a head during the wedding ceremony itself, making them appear all the more self-obsessed.
Strangely, for a film about a wedding, the groom and bride end up as background characters that seem certain to get married no matter how badly things unravel. That means there’s little at stake in the film – honestly, is it really the end of world if Jared doesn’t get laid over the weekend?
Frankly, it’s darn near impossible to like most of these people. One assumes that “Mon frère se marie,” the original film upon which this adaptation is based, strove to parody the stuffy conventions of an eccentric, pompous family and put them through the ringer, rather than attempt to have us identify and like them. Or perhaps something was simply lost in translation. Or maybe it wasn’t very funny either. Regardless, “The Big Wedding” is a non-event.