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Wedding Daze
Reviewer: Joel
Review date: 25/06/2007
Film genre: Comedy, Romance
Director: Michael Ian Black
Starring: Jason Biggs, Isla Fisher, Joe Pantoliano
Nothing is more awkward for a filmgoer than when an attempted joke on the silver screen falls completely flat. Michael Ian Black serves up a whole feature's worth of misfires here as, aside from Reno 911!: Miami and Epic Movie, Wedding Daze is one of the most unpleasant cinematic efforts of the year. Biggs basically shepherds a very predictable plot in his own unique American Pie-like manner, but not even he can rescue a script as flimsy as this. For instance, an opening sequence involving cinema's original pie penetrator dressed up as Cupid brings back a familiar feel once found in the teen comedy renaissance of the turn of the millennium, but no lasting impression is cemented in the viewer's mind. Isla Fisher does her best to add some quality to the film with decent comedic timing but not even her pleasing Australian derriere can mount a salvage operation of any magnitude. Frankly, the set-up of randomly proposing to a waitress and then marrying after several poor episodes of attempted hilarity that don't even garner a whimper, will spark little to no interest for even a romantic comedy obsessive. Biggs is simply acting like a retired sports star here, returning to what he does best but revisiting his chosen genre after his heyday to little success.
The leading duo are certainly not the worst elements of this flick however. Anderson's (Biggs) overweight and oversexed parents are diabolical. Two particular scenes involving cream and a voyeuristic lesbian episode only draw laughs because of the disgusting shock of how appalling the idea is and how ghastly the premise ended up being presented on screen. What the hell was going through the director's mind when he also wrote this? Most people tolerate the odd bout of squeamishness but there is no excuse for unsuccessful deadpan involving penis rings, Jewish sing-along and the like. Furthermore, Joe Pantoliano has done more disastrous things to his already shaky career as Katie's (Fisher) hyperactive Buddhist jailbird father.
The summary
Perfect medicine for insomniacs. Material such as this is sure to cure the chronic and ridiculously annoying disorder.
