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18 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
An affair to remember, 11 January 2002
8/10
Author: Merwyn Grote (majikstl@aol.com) from St. Louis, Missouri

I think this film does a splendid job of showing both the charm and the pitfalls of Robert Altman's style of direction. And curiously, it may be his most likable film.

Of course, Altman's trademark soft-focus drama and overlapping soundtrack are in evidence here, giving us a clear approximation of what it is like to be thrust into a big, bustling and poorly-organized social event. A WEDDING shows us what Altman does best, creating an atmosphere where individuals come into and out of focus seemingly at random and the storyline unfolds less like a narrative than as a string of half overheard bits of gossip. The large and varied cast performs with seemingly exaggerated gusto, a necessity to help make clear the individual threads of the tangled narratives. You either love this about Altman's films, or it infuriates you -- sometimes it does both.

Yet, as much as this meandering style of film-making can exhilarate the game viewer, it can also rob the story of a sense of gravity. Certainly, the point of the film is that such an event as a phoney-baloney society wedding is a trivial affair, at the same time when the film turns to matters of life and death, the Altman style makes this seem trivial as well. Altman has never been able to punch home his films with "a big climatic moment" -- and he has never really tried -- and that is what is missing from A WEDDING. It just sort of peters out, like guests who randomly wander out of the party without saying goodbye.

Still, there is something endearing about A WEDDING that is missing from much of Altman's other works. Despite the large hubbub of characters, this is an intimate affair and little bits of bittersweet drama filters through. The lightly sketched vignettes give us an insightful vision of family ties in various states of unraveling. The characters, though ludicrous from a distance, are somehow endearing when viewed up close. Kudos must go to vivid performances by such unlikely costars as Carol Burnett, Pat McCormick, Dina Merrill, Geraldine Chaplin, Lillian Gish, Nina Van Palandt, Mia Farrow and Lauren Hutton, some of whom have but a few seconds of screen time to create memorable characterizations. Like many a real-life wedding, A Wedding is vaguely disappointing, yet strangely unforgettable.

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14 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Hardly a fiasco, 11 November 2000
Author: Space Oddity_2001

This is actually one of Altman's most underrated films from his late seventies period. I have been catching it a lot on the Romance channel (of all places) recently .It is set during a wedding and the two families who comprise the story. Good ensemble acting as we would expect from an Altman film, especially Paul Dooley, Mia Farrow, Carol Burnett and Lilian Gish. While not in the same vein as say Nashville, it is definitively worth watching, especially for Altman aficionados.

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14 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the last classic 70's films to come out of the decade..., 29 June 2004
10/10
Author: Christopher (mrcaw1@hotmail.com) from New York

Though not as fully realized a film as MASH or Nashville, this is still a great film worthy of study in film classes and deserving of a better reputation than it currently receives. Altman showcases a wedding between two different classes of American society from vows to alcohol sodden, pot hazed, emotional let down end. I think what bothers most people about this film is that it doesn't hone in on any particular story line or character. Curiously, many recent films, Love Actually and Magnolia, for example, also present many story lines, but in too much detail, attempting to force the audience to care about each and every disparate story line and in my opinion, fails miserably. Altman, instead, only presents snippets of conversations, glimpses into the characters assembled for the wedding. For some reason this movie reminds me very much of the famous painting by Velasquez, Las Meninas. Velasquez's painting shows a royal family, posed rather informally and in the background can be seen the painter himself, painting the picture that is in fact being viewed. Many clues are given by the painter about the people shown, but nothing is obvious. Things are not as they appear to be. And the painting can keep it's audience at a distance if the viewer is not informed or it can bring the viewer into it's closed circle, if the viewer has the intelligence to know where to look. So too, does Altman's A Wedding, keep it's viewers at a distance and yet at the same time, constantly provides portals into the world of its characters. I think Altman does an outstanding job of treating the viewer as if he were an invisible guest at the wedding. Though the bride's father is a successful business man, he's a self made man and not to the manor born and while he can afford to give his daughter an opulent wedding it does not alter the fact that the family his daughter is marrying into, comes from a different echelon of society. One that has lineage and history as well as financial success. It's hard to relate to the groom's family unless one has been exposed to or comes from that world. Altman accurately portrays the idosyncrasies and cultural idioms that make up the world of the cushioned and privileged. This is a great film that holds its own in film culture and in the pantheon of great films from Altman.

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15 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Wonderful, vintage Altman, 27 February 2002
9/10
Author: fuldamobil from L.A.

This is a fascinating comedy from Robert Altman's peak period

before his 80's downslide. A Wedding is sadly underappreciated,

and really deserves to be rediscovered, especially after the recent

success of Gosford Park which is an obvious companion piece to

this film. Both films deal with class and gender distinctions and

feature an eccentric group of party-goers who can't seem to leave

the soiree and are trapped in a mansion (obviously inspired by

Buenel's Exterminating Angel). A Wedding is filled with great

performances especially Carol Burnett, who is the heart of the film;

Geraldine Chaplin; Desi Arnaz Jr.; and Mia Farrow. Highly

recommended.

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8 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Promises promises, 26 November 2004
7/10
Author: jotix100 from New York

Robert Altman's "A Wedding" was shown recently on cable. Having seen it when it was first released, I was curious as to how it kept after all these years. Being an admirer of Mr. Altman's work, it was worth watching again, although the movie seems a bit too long on second viewing.

Mr. Altman brings two families into a formal wedding that are as dissimilar as oil and water. The groom's family is old money and the bride's is new money, perhaps, although the latter one seem to be out of place. The immediate reaction is: why are these two people marrying? Frankly, it makes no sense, at all.

We are treated to a wedding reception from hell! The wedding party as well as some of the few guests that attend the reception are an odd lot indeed. Logic would indicate that if a wedding is at the center of the story, the bride and the groom should be more prominently focused, but this being an Altman film, they are not as important as the people around them.

There is the old matriarch with no sense of time, at all! Then there is the old bishop that might be in the beginning states of dementia. The old family doctor who likes to touch all females' breasts. We have a wedding planner who has no sense of style. The mother of the bride is swept off her feet by the uncle of the groom in a hysterical sequence. The sister of the bride also had relations with the groom and his class at the military academy!

We get to spy on most conversations. Mr. Altman makes us silent witnesses to what is going on behind the scenes. This is his device for telling his story; he lets us hear snippets of conversation to get an idea of what is really going on.

"A Wedding" is a minor Altman. Somehow this story doesn't grab the viewer the same way as some of his best pictures, but it's a fun ride all the same. At the end we have learned the secrets of the two families and frankly, most of it was not that interesting. That is why, perhaps, this movie, although it tries, never found a wider audience when it came out in 1978.

This film is for Altman fans, mainly.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Cool Altman ensemble, 2 December 2000
8/10
Author: John Bethea (jhbethea@yahoo.com) from West University Place

I found this to be an interesting and insightful portrayal of the different strata of American society, and how flexible and inflexible they can be when confronted with issues they MUST deal with. It's a wedding for Christ's sake! Can't miss that! I think it's beautiful that Altman, borrowing heavily from various forms of Commedia dell'Arte, tragic plays of Shakespeare, and other classic literary works, uses a wedding to create the tensions throughout the film. Remember, this is the bride and groom's special occasion, yet everyone else seems so put out and upset with having to deal with one another, as if they are the ones going through with the ceremony, that they will be the ones marrying each another. In today's world, this is an absurd notion, and Altman knows it. You get the feeling he really enjoys watching this all-american, suburban family cringe at the idea of being married to the mob, though all of them know this is probably the last time they all be together. He's always had such a cynical view of the nuclear family. This would really be one of Altman's best films if it wasn't for the silly pretentiousness of some of the roles, especially Mia Farrow's. I must admit that I love the ending, which most people I know hate.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Hilarious, 10 December 2006
9/10
Author: Ismaninb from Suriname

It seems, I am one of the few commenters who think this movie very funny. Maybe it is, because I am not American. In my opinion A wedding is a great spoof of American culture. It is not a prerogative of the English to keep up appearances. Maybe it is just my weird sense of humour. There are few things as funny as people trying the best they can to run everything smoothly and perfectly, just because decencey commands it, and failing. Altman mercilessly shows the inevitable result: hypocrisy. This is what happens, when people deny human shortcomings. That's why I think A wedding is not typical a 70's movie, but has enduring qualities. Compared to Gosford Park it is easy to follow all the subplots. I like A wedding even better than Mash.

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7 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Another Altman slice of life, 5 February 2001
8/10
Author: Boyo-2

This movie does not differ from many Robert Altman's of the 1970's and 1980's. A large cast is given a situation and it plays out. In this case its the wedding of two kids but its more about several other things at the same time. Neither of the family members are very comfortable and the day is a disaster. No one shows up for the reception. It gets worse than that too.

A movie like this is as memorable as the actors and they are all very good, particularly Vittorio Gassman, Dina Merrill, Viveca Lindfors, Peggy Ann Garner and John Considine.

Stand-out scene for me was between "MOB" ("Mother of the Bride", in Geraldine Chaplin's caterers' shorthand) Nina Van Pallandt and her creepy & lecherous doctor Howard Duff. Let's just say The Beatles song "Mother's Little Helper" comes to mind right away.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
WEDDING captures the aesthetics of Californian wealth in the '70's, 17 June 2003
Author: clintonspilsbury from tokyo, japan

As I recently watched A WEDDING for the first time on late night Japanese television, I admit that I didn't get into it right away. But from about a half hour deep and on I was hypnotized. The best thing about any Altman film is not the immediate story it appears to be conveying but rather the heavily detail-oriented world in which the story plays out. The world here, similar in period detail to an earlier great '70's film by Michael Ritchie called SMILE, is that of sprawling middle class wealth and comfort. Many of the characters' motivations stem from this overwealth and drive them towards insatiable sexual appetites. I am particularly struck by a scene that takes place on a California freeway. There's less traffic here in a midday scene than there would be these days on any given night at 3 AM. Just as I felt as though I was completely tuned into this world, Pam Dawber rides into the center of the film on a horse while a man on a motorcycle almost causes her to fall and I cannot for the life of me explain how or why the symbolism here struck me as hard as it did. This was an amazing visual film. I suppose in the far flung future when vitual reality technologies are a reality, programmers seeking to recreate this era will use this film for reference as they would be well served in so doing.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Wedding Day Blues, 19 June 2009
8/10
Author: tieman64 from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"A Wedding" begins with a rather boring wedding ceremony, director Robert Altman introducing us to his bride, groom and their respective family members. As a priest proceeds to wed this couple, a documentary crew frantically begins to film the event. This documentary crew, which will be pop up countless times throughout the picture, encapsulates Altman's own approach to film-making. Though bound to a single space or event, his camera restlessly jumps from character to character, eavesdropping on his large cast as he attempts to tease out individual character arcs.

After the wedding ceremony, Altman's cast is chauffeured over to an elaborate after-party held at a beautiful mansion. It is here where the fun begins, "A Wedding" suddenly revealing itself to be the precursor to Altman's own "Gosford Park". We watch as maids, assistants and security personnel bumble about this large house, performing chores and tending to business as they attempt to keep the party underway. We watch the various families mingle, chat, dance, search for bathrooms, bedrooms, wine and dine and pose for photos. Everyone is up to something, and Altman has fun chartering their petty moments, movements and conversations.

An hour into the picture, though, we start to realise how mean spirited the film actually is. What began as a gentle comedy becomes a rather cynical attack on manners, marriage, family customs and social traditions.

And so when Altman reveals that the groom got the bride's mentally ill sister pregnant, things take a progressively darker turn. Suddenly we realise that seemingly happily married couples are really busy having affairs or plotting sexual rendezvous. We realise that the father of the groom, far from the suave gentleman he appears to be, is really a wealthy criminal in hiding. Seemingly normal characters then begin to reveal their neuroses, whilst others have homosexual encounters in showers, smoke marijuana or discuss abortions. To top it all off, there's a dead woman in a room upstairs and the film ends with the only truly open and honest young couple in the picture, dying in a road accident.

By the time the credits roll, Altman has succeeded in sucking all the joy out of what began as a happy ceremony. His bride and groom leave the party with a sense of disillusionment, both families drawn further apart by their very proximity.

7.9/10 – Though not as ambitious as "Gosford Park", this little farce is still a lot of fun. Its only flaws are a slow initial 15 minutes, a rather one dimensional sense of cynicism, and Altman's style itself, which is rather off putting if you're not familiar with it.

Worth one viewing only.

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