The story is as entertaining as the bride and groom cutting a fake cake.
“My Mother’s Wedding” is about three sisters with different jobs who reunite for the latest wedding of their widowed mother. It’s funny because last year I praised a drama called “His Three Daughters,” which about three sisters from different mothers who must tend to their dying biological father. So, I guess that would basically make this movie: “Her Three Daughters.” The bad news is that this movie sucks.
The story is set in England and introduces to Katherine Frost (Scarlett Johansson) as a Captain in the Royal Navy, Victoria (Sienna Miller) as an actress in America, and Georgina (Emily Beecham) as a hospital nurse. Their widowed mother Diana (Kristin Scott Thomas) is getting married for the third time. This time to an old timer by the name of Geoffrey Loveglove (James Fleet)
Their father was a Royal Navy pilot who died in battle, and his friend Johnny took over until he died in battle, too. And Geoffrey is no pilot, but a bird lover. He’s also the kind of guy, who would accidentally walk in the wrong room, in which Victoria sleeps in the nude. Pump the breaks, he’s not a sadistic pig; he just a goofball with the right last name.
Speaking of which, a lot of the drama presented in “My Mother’s Wedding” regards Katherine wanting to keep her last name to honor her dead father, while being disillusioned that her mother would now be known as Diana Loveglove. She assures her mother that his last name is good, but the spirit of her dead father needs to be alive. Sometimes, we also get pencil animation to represent her youth and the pathos regarding her last name, which is nicely done, but not very deep.
Also, Frida Pinto comes in as Katherine’s girlfriend Jack, who comes to the wedding, as she doesn’t see her as much due to her job. And Samson Kayo plays a recovering alcoholic detective who is hired by Victoria to keep an eye on Georgina’s fornicating husband (Joshua McGuire). Now the drama of Georgina’s suspicions being correct is more well-meaning than how the screenplay gives her credit for.
With help from co-writer and her new husband John Micklethwait (who is also the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News), Thomas was able to create these fictional characters using elements from her own childhood memories. “My Mother’s Wedding” is also her directorial debut, but as a great of an actress as she is, she doesn’t craft a vivid piece. In fact, she relies to too many tropes and characters to have us absorbed in her vision.
To inform you about my heading, I once attended a wedding where the bride and groom were cutting a fake cake, and had cookies and brownies as the desserts. They were delicious, but I prefer cakes at weddings. I’m sure some people would use fake cakes, but I wouldn’t. That’s why I referenced that in the heading. “My Mother’s Wedding” has great actresses and directed by a great actress, but they aren’t really given much flavors or basis. Just cliches, lackluster dialogue, and typical humor.
The ambiance, tone, and look of this movie try to resemble a classic Richard Curtis movie like “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” but without that patience and honesty, this movie doesn’t seem to know where to go. It wants to have the three sisters learn that life throws them a curveball and how they choose to handle their problems, but I wasn’t really learning much and I wasn’t really caring.
