Breakup at a Wedding Synopsis: A videographer captures an engaged couple’s decision to proceed with a sham wedding after the bride calls off the ceremony and decides to break up with her partner, who secretly hopes that his surprise gift will ultimately change her mind.
Directed by: Victor Quinaz
Written by: Anna Martemucci, Philip Quinaz
Victor Quinaz
Released: June 18, 2013
Runtime: 85 minutes
Rated: PG-13
Breakup at a Wedding is exactly what the title tells you it is. At her rehearsal dinner the night before her wedding, Alison (Alison Fyhrie) decides she doesn’t want to get married after all. She also has a problem with wanting to please people, so she talks her blindsided fiance Phil (Philip Quinaz) into going along with the wedding and rehearsal to not disappoint their friends and family. They won’t sign the marriage certificate.
Phil thinks it’s a crazy idea… at first. But he then decides to go along with it because he’s put himself into financial debt buying Alison a house, and he believes the surprise gift will win her back and make her want to marry him after all.
The wedding is doomed from the start. The groom is broke, the bride is apathetic, and they have friends and family with issues. The videographer (played by director Victor Quinaz) has no sense of boundaries. He captures as much drama as he can, taking advantage of the fact that the bride, groom, and guests often forget they’re wearing wireless mics. Alison’s parents are divorced, and both her father and brother are now married to Middle Eastern “mail-order” brides. Phil’s father died when he was young, so he’s close to his mom and male friends.
That doesn’t mean Phil’s not something of a creep. He gets his own best man wasted enough to miss the wedding so he can make his wealthy boss, Damien, his best man. But not because they’re friends. Phil is attempting to wrangle some money from the guy to help pay for his and Alison’s new house. Alison is no better.
Understandably, she would get cold feet or even realize her desire to marry Phil was more based on her desire for the happily ever after that her parents never got. But to go through an entire wedding and rehearsal to please everyone around her is pretty crappy, despite the maybe-good intentions.
Breakup at a Wedding includes typical wedding shenanigans. The crazy, drunk best man, the maid of honor who is on the prowl to get laid, the awkward messages to the bride and groom on video, the dance-off between the only two black couples in attendance… Breakup at a Wedding isn’t an original concept. Still, it’s an interesting premise to take the “found footage” and use it to expose the insanity and occasional embarrassments that come with alcohol-laced weddings. Weddings frequently bring out the worst in people, and Breakup at a Wedding highlights that here.
It’s not terribly funny, though it does have a couple of amusing moments. There’s just a lot of unnecessary filler that was probably used to try and get the film to the 85-minute mark. Basically, if you’ve seen a movie about a wedding and some not-so-likable people, you’ve already seen this movie. I’d recommend giving it a pass.
Watched: 03.10.2020
Breakup at a Wedding Notable Song: N/A
