Review of Rachel Getting Married (2008) by Jeremyk — 12 Oct 2009

Extraordinarily disappointing as I had built up some confidence in David Edelstein - who incredulously called this myopic misfire a "masterpiece" - but find myself utterly underwhelmed by this amateur-hour soap opera dresssed up as an edgy indie film.

There is no doubt some craftiness to the direction and use of ensemble acting - but what a soulless cheeseball of a movie. We despise all the characters (sometimes guilting them by association) and the way the over-the-top antics of the main characters who are of so little consequence, not only to each other, but to the detriment of the viewers curiosity about - what happens next? "Who are these people and who cares?" is a more appropriately realistic intuition.

A nauseating exercise in watching an out of touch director portray a cliched dysfunctional family, peppered with all the usual (only more agonizing to sit through) drama and squabbles while you get the distinct feeling that on and off screen, this group couldn't be more stuffed with themselves in their self-congratulations - as though something even remotely worthwhile had been fashioned.

They're wrong and it's 2 hours of your life you'll never recover. I suppose it earns a four because of the intensity of my disdain for this film (much the same intensity of dislike I had for Paul Haggis' "Crash"-- that must be worth something, mustn't it? This my friends is a film made by and for the fat, happy and utterly ignorant.

(Oh, and that's an expression, not an attack on the overweight). Skip it or see it and let the gagfest begin..