My Best Friend's Wedding
Director: P.J.Hogan.
Starring: Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, Rupert
Everett.
How seriously should we take movies? Are they just pleasant two hour
diversions where we sit for a short while and then forget them
completely? Or do they have a greater power? Do they merely reflect
the attitudes and values of society or do they have the power to
influence? Do violent movies make people more violent?
While I would never argue that a single movie could convert a
liberal-minded, generous person into a card carrying member of the Ku
Klux Klan, I think to dismiss movies as having no power is going too
far the opposite direction. Images that are repeated become part of our
collective conscience, phrases enter our vocabularies, attitudes
influence our behaviour.
What, you ask, has all this to do with My Best Friend's
Wedding? Before I answer that, let me pose three more questions.
In movies, what do you call an independent woman with her own career,
reasonably strong opinions and no desire to tag along behind a man? A
bitch, of course. Are there any other possible roles available to
young, attractive women? Yes, that of a doting, dependent woman,
willing to sacrifice any dreams or ambitions that she might have
to follow her man and support him in all of his decisions, however
silly they may be. Finally, which of the above two roles is the
heroine and which is the baddy?
Bitches, of course, deep down want to be like the heroines and can be
redeemed by giving up their opinions and their careers and giving all
to love.
My Best Friend's Wedding has both female characters and very
little new ground is covered here. Julianne(Ms. Julia Roberts) is
the bitch,
intent on breaking up Kimmy(Ms. Cameron Diaz) and Michael(Mr. Dermot
Mulroney)'s wedding. Ok, you've read my objections above. If we
ignore the gender politics, is it a good movie?
Um, No.
When Mr. Rupert Everett (George) is on screen, the energy is palpable;
his performance is magnificent, bubbling with fun, a continual laugh,
absolutely superb. Unfortunately, when he leaves the screen, the
energy drop is noticeable. I had heard that he was good in this movie
and so during the opening part of the movie, I kept waiting for
Julianne to call
him, to get him out there. When he left, I screamed at the screen,
"No, don't get on the 'plane. We need you!" Alas, he left and with
him went the movie.
Ms. Roberts and Ms. Diaz play their parts completely over the top.
In fact, everyone except Mr. Mulroney plays this way.
(He seems like a fish out of water; I could not for the
life of me see the attraction of this man. In the interests of being
fair to the movie, I guess I have to give it some points for making
the male character the insipid one. However, in a movie that was
feeling dead, this is faint praise.) In spite of the
over-the-topness, no-one had quite the energy of Mr. Everett; the
performances fall flat. In fact, some of the scenes, such as the ice
sculpture business, are embarrassingly bad.
In summary, in the middle of a 105 minute movie, there's half an hour
of brilliant fun. Surrounding this is a weak story-line, mediocre
performances and bad gender politics. That's too many strikes for me.
Rating: P
© Nikki Lesley 1997