EMMA IS ON CLOUD NINE when her beloved boyfriend RJ proposes to her and she accepts without a second thought. The only problem is that her mother Lana was completely unaware of her relationship and fears that the news could upset her… Initially, the woman takes it better than expected and agrees to go to Thailand with her daughter, specifically to the exotic Phuket, where the wedding will take place. Upon her arrival, however, she discovers that the future father-in-law is none other than an old flame of hers, Will, with whom she had abruptly broken up before meeting her future husband. A husband who has been missing for twenty years and therefore makes her now a single widow, enough to impress even a handsome island resident. But if the saying goes that true love never dies, between the two parents of the spouses the spark of the past could be reignited, with all the unforeseen events that may come along.
THE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE: AS BEFORE, MORE THAN BEFORE – REVIEW (NO SPOILERS)
Just a few weeks ago on these same pages, we talked about Ticket to Paradise (2022), a rom-com where Julia Roberts and George Clooney participated in the picturesque setting of Bali in their beloved daughter’s wedding, starting a series of bickering and more or less funny romantic situations. This Mother of the Bride seems to be a bad and bland copy of it, despite some changes in the screenplay and in the relationships between the characters, the story is basically the same.
In the roles of the two protagonists, we find Brooke Shields, the actress and sex symbol of the eighties now a sprightly sixty-year-old, and Benjamin Bratt, with the roles of their offspring entrusted to Miranda Cosgrove and Sean Teale, with Chad Michael Murray playing the part of the potential third wheel. Because naturally during the hour and a half of viewing, jealousy and misunderstandings abound, ready to ruin the happy ending that everyone already knows is written.
PARADISE AND HELL
A predictable and overused sentimental rhetoric accompanies this dream wedding that risks turning into a nightmare, not only because of the interference of mom and dad but also because of that meticulously arranged program to be followed to the letter, with various activities to be completed within the predetermined time frames complicating those already strong familial ties in crisis. The screenplay then starts from an absurd premise based on too extreme and clichéd coincidences, which removes any verisimilitude applied to the genre.
Between matches of pickleball – a soft variant of tennis – where balls hit sensitive areas, beach binges, fortuitous falls into the pool, and the classic final dance during the end credits, The Mother of the Bride fully respects all the clichés of the genre, without a hint of originality that would recommend its viewing unless you are a total neophyte in this regard.
FINAL THOUGHTS
A banal and repetitive rom-com that quotes recent productions without a hint of inventiveness, a product of those algorithms that often seem to dominate contemporary screenplays, especially for titles designed for streaming platforms.
And we are certain that The Mother of the Bride will easily captivate the Netflix audience, with those exotic beaches of Thailand and that endangered wedding as clever bait. An hour and a half of viewing between clichés and stale jokes, series of forced situations from the improbable premise and a poorly blended cast dealing with stereotyped characters.