Couch Potato Review: Rachel Getting Married

Rachel Getting Married is one of those hybrid films that claims to be independent, but stars Anne Hathaway and is directed by Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs). So I don't know how independent this film actually is. All that aside, Rachel Getting Married is about Kym (Hathaway), a model who has spent the last decade in and out of rehab. The last stint has lasted 9 months, and we the audience get the feeling that Kym is committed to staying clean this time. So does rehab, so she is allowed a weekend out for her sister Rachel's (Rosemarie DeWitt) wedding at the family home in Connecticut. Kym has to deal with the distrust she has in herself, her family's distrust of her, and her sister's desire to have one day for herself where everyone is not worrying about Kym.

Hathaway earns her Oscar nomination here. Her creation of Kym is pitiful, maddeningly frustrating, self-centered, self-loathing, funny, wounded, trouble-making, and just all-around complicated. Considering Hathaway isn't even 30 yet, and has only really had comic, light-as-souffle roles in the past, this is a major achievement in her career. Her highlight is the "Shiva the Destroyer" toast, a painfully embarrassing situation that does not go at all as Kym hopes. Dewitt also gives a very subtle performance as Rachel, who in the one hand loves her sister and want to her to recover, but on the other hand wants the attention due to her as a bride. This is the most frustrating part of the film, and the most realistic. The film really does capture the sheer frustration of a family in this crisis of addiction and recovery, where the addict is in a constant battle with himself or herself to not use again, so it is difficult for that person to see past his or her own needs. But for a wedding, he or she must.

Now for the bad news. The film is shot documentary style, on hand-held cameras with natural light and didactic music on the commune-like house and land. Not inherently a problem, unless you're prone to motion-sickness and don't like violin. It gives the film a feel of an extended episode of Intervention. The movie does have some clever cover for some of its budget issues, like having "wedding helpers" who are so devoted to the bride, they do all the weding stuff, like build tents, bake, string up lights, etc. In the rain. So yeah, the budget was low. But the thing that annoyed BackseatDirector the most was the wedding itself. Now, this is a fantastic example of film artifice. How does a Jewish girl, marrying an African-American man, decide to have an Indian-themed wedding (complete with saris and chrysanthemums), with a minister, that has samba dancers at the reception? Is it just me, or does that seem a little much? A tad unrealistic, if you will. And these decisions are never explained, but everyone seems to love and go with it. Maybe you had to be there, but I was just annoyed to pieces by how unrealistic it was. Anything that makes me say, aloud, "who does that?" is not a good sign.

Overall, Rachel Getting Married is an interesting character study, but I'll skip the wedding.

(Rated R for language and brief sexuality. They forgot to add brief violence.)