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Scott Ventura >> Movie Commentary >> October 1999 >> My Best Friend's Wedding

My Best Friend's Wedding

Movie Commentary by Scott Ventura

Details

Scott's Rating:
3 / 5
Times Seen:
1
Viewing Date:
October 1999
IMDB Name:
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
Director:
P.J. Hogan
Keywords:
comedy, romance
Made:
1997
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 on appeal for one use of strong language and brief sex-related humor.

Fundamental Flaw

I know that when it comes to romantic comedies, the heart is supposed to conquer the brain to allow the hare- brained schemes to play out. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get over one question: why is the Julia Roberts character so obsessed with the Dermot Mulroney character? He seems a little oafish. I also often got the feeling that the arguments she tried to use to dissuade Cameron Diaz's character rang true for her as well. After all, is his job good enough for her tastes? Can she stand his snoring? Perhaps most importantly, would she really be happy and secure in the relationship knowing the subterfuge to which she resorted to get him? I think I would've enjoyed things more if Roberts were allowed to make Julianne convincing. She's far too transparent in her attempts, and Mulroney is required to always keep a look of near-comprehension on his face. This issue wouldn't've come up if the audience had been trusted to remember Julianne's intentions, and not be reminded of it constantly by her facial expressions.

DVD Comments

When I first got a DVD player, I was disappointed that so few discs were interested in providing non-English audio and subtitle tracks. Here's a disc that has English, French, and Spanish audio, and English and Spanish subtitles. The subtitles are overflowing with extra text that calls out text already largely legible in the background. One frame had "steakhouse" and "taxi" where neither was really important. I can understand the times when brand names are called out for paid product placement, but not the rest.

Other than being unusually rich in languages, the disc is devoid of interest. I'd like to go out on a limb here. Since this movie falls pretty squarely into the "chick flick" genre, the DVD's producers decided that most of the extras that distinguish discs would be unnecessary. Maybe the primary audience for this movie isn't interested in cast biographies, trailers, or commentaries, but that doesn't seem fair. Oh well.

See the IMDB information on My Best Friend's Wedding's DVD.

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Copyright 1999-2002 by Scott Ventura. All rights reserved.