Ruud Review: Rachel Getting Married

Last Friday I saw Rachel Getting Married starring Anne Hathaway.

On what I imagine was a dark and cold night in December of 1987 my parent's dressed their four children in matching Santa Bear sweatshirts, strapped them in the family sedan and trekked out to the mall to see Santa Claus - something they had done for at least a few years by this point. I vaguely remember this, but I am sure the next few hours were filled with begging, screaming, and complaints about being hot, hungry and/or tired. I am sure someone, most likely me, complained about the long line to see Santa Claus. Jon would have pleaded for the latest Lego set, Jennie would have asked for a Barbie and Amanda would have wanted some sort of princess dress or palace. I am sure that my parents both dreaded and looked forward to this day every year. This is evident by the fact that my mother proudly displays each year's Santa photo every Christmas. But the December 1987 photo is the one that sticks out in my mind. In this picture, Jennie is all smiles. Jon, with a death grip around Amanda is all smiles, too. Amanda is, well, I imagine Amanda is shrilling so loud the dogs at the pet store on the other side of the mall are going nuts in their cruel cages. And I... I am embarrassed. You can tell I am embarrassed by the way my head is slightly turned and my face is being covered by my hand. The poor bastard playing Santa Claus is, I'm pretty sure, terrified.

This scene in my life, straight out of 1987, is the closest thing I can equate to the film Rachel Getting Married. Anne Hathaway plays a recovering addict who is let out of rehab to attend her sister's wedding. The first thing I want to say is that Anne Hathaway did a fantastic job in this film. I enjoy Hathaway is mostly everything thing she has done (expect that weird short lived Fox series, Get Real, a show that Amanda still quotes every now and then). Her performance was convincing, powerful and heart wrenching. Kudos to you Anne Hathaway. The rest of the film, however, was nothing short of painful. It's like watching an episode of The Office, but without the humor. So Hathaway is selfish and self absorbed recovering addict. Like most addicts, I imagine, Hathaway's character feels the need to constantly be the center of attention and everything has to be about her and her disease. Her sister is bitter, or maybe just tired, because their father is an enabler. The mother is... well, distant and emotionless. That is until the big fight between her and Hathaway's character. There is little plot - the film revolves around the wedding and a family dealing with the return of their addict daughter/sister and their relationships. It's poignant, but painful to see a family go through what they have gone through and to try and make a special day happy, despite the past. It's also painfully long... I could have done without at least half of the unnecessary dialogs/monologues during the rehearsal dinner, wedding reception dinner and the bizarre dancing that followed. It was also shot using a single digital camera, so it has that home movie/Blair Witch Project feel to it.

Overall thoughts: If you get motion sickness, take some Dramamine before watching this film. Hathaway was stellar - check this movie out just to see her. It was a moving film, it just didn't move very fast. Parts were very uncomfortable to watch, but you can really feel something for this family. And it was long. There was one scene during the wedding (which was Hindu themed despite no one in the film being Hindu) where I actually said to myself, "Really?"

But let me tell you, if you feel as though your family is dysfunctional or embarrassing or you have a sister who screams at the shear sight of Santa Claus and you are dreading speading time with them this coming holiday season, go and see this movie and they won't look so bad anymore.

Next Review: Quantum of Solace