FATHER OF THE BRIDE: Parts I and II: Bluray (Touchstone 1991/95) Touchstone Home Video
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Okay, this is going to
sound like sacrilege to cinema purists of which I usually rank myself one among
many, but I actually prefer Charles Shyer’s 1991 remake of Father of the Bride to the Vincente Minnelli 1950 original. Put
bluntly, I always found the original’s base mentality of ‘the little woman’ –
all aproned up, wearing a head kerchief and cooking up a storm for her hubby –
stereotypical and cliché even by the rigid cinematic standards of the frosty
fifties; a decade where not even marrieds were allowed to share the same bed.
It was even more of hurdle to overcome when I considered that Kay, ‘the bride’
in the original was played by Elizabeth Taylor. I mean, honestly, can you
picture the sultry Elizabeth forgoing her sexy/stately glamor for a can of
Crisco and little pots and pans?!?
Even more problematic for
me was the fact that Francis Goodrich and Albert Hackett’s screenplay – based
on a novel by Edward Streeter – clung desperately to focusing on Stanley Banks
(then, played by Spencer Tracy), who seemed more harried than humorous. There
was no integration of the family unit. Stanley was going it alone without the
support or even the sympathy of his wife. And then, there was Vincente
Minnelli’s creative exercise in the ‘dream sequence’ to contend with; a
nightmare that finds Stanley sweating over arriving late at his own daughter’s
wedding only to be devoured by the church’s quicksand-like checker floor. It
shreds the tuxedo from his body, leaving Stanley in his skivvies as horrified
guests look on.
I had seen the original
more than once by the time this remake came along, and I remember entering the
theater with friends who had not with some trepidation. But then the lights
dimmed and the romance and the comedy began; Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer’s
screenplay remaining elegantly faithful to the source material where it seemed
fitting, but launching into some inspired revisions that made everything come
together as it always should.
The
casting of Steven Martin and Diane Keaton, as George and Nina Banks, perfectly
gelled. Kimberly Williams made a winsome, but intelligent bride, while George
Newbern, as the fiancée Bryan MacKenzie offered a fresh perspective on the
gruesome awkwardness of meeting one’s future in-laws for the first time. There
were even bits of impressive slapstick – such as the dog chase, and hotdog bun
confrontation – to indulge Steve Martin’s clever agility. The story now fleshed
out the characters of Bryan’s parents, John (Peter Michael Goetz) and Johanna
(Kate McGregor-Stewart).
But perhaps best of all was
the addition of two characters unique to this remake; effeminate wedding
coordinator Franck Eggelhoff (Martin Short) and his twink-ish assistant, Howard
Weinstein (B.D. Wong). In an inspired bit of ham acting, Short managed to
become the perfect foil, delicately poking fun at George’s skinflint ways while
exuberantly celebrating the predictable panic and folly of pulling off a
glamorous catered affair.
Our story opens with a
deflated George Banks (Steve Martin) slumped into an oversized armchair,
surveying the aftermath and wreckage of his daughter’s reception. He addresses
the camera directly, appealing to ‘dad’s’ in the audience about the ordeal he’s
just gone through. From here, we regress to that fateful afternoon a few months
earlier when George’s daughter, Annie (Kimberly Williams), returned from a
holiday in Rome to announce that she has just met the man of her
dreams and will be getting married.
Mom, Nina (Diane Keaton) is
dewy eyed with delight. Even Annie’s younger brother, Matty (Kieran Culkin) is excited for her. But
George is instantly outraged by the immediacy of Annie’s declaration. After a
minor tiff in which he forbids his daughter to marry anyone, George comes to
his senses and agrees to meet the potential groom, Bryan MacKenzie (George
Newbern); an independent communication’s liaison with a lucrative globetrotting
career.
The mood between Bryan and
George is strained at best. But Nina thinks Bryan is a real catch. The next day
Nina and George drive to Belle Aire to meet Bryan’s parents, John (Peter
Michael Goetz) and Johanna (Kate McGregor-Stewart). To George’s amazement, he
discovers that John feels almost the same way as he does about their children
getting married. After some initial talk, George excuses himself from the
conversation to use the MacKenzie’s upstairs bathroom. But he cannot help
himself and soon begins to skulk about, only to be confronted by the family’s
two large Doberman Pinchers. The dogs force George, who has absconded with
John’s chequebook, to jump from the second story, plunging into the backyard
swimming pool.
Shortly thereafter, Nina
and Annie inform George that they have decided to hire a wedding coordinator to
helm plans for the home based reception. George is reluctant, seeing only more
dollars being needlessly spent of the superficialities of the day. But he is
positively convinced hiring anyone is a mistake after meeting Franck Eggelhoff
(Martin Short) who proceeds to literally takeover planning a great wedding, right down to the style and brand of tuxedos the men
will be wearing. George bucks Franck at every turn, incurring Nina’s wrath.
After George discovers Annie asleep on the couch, still clutching a copy of
frugal ways to plan a wedding, he realizes how important the reception is and
decides to give his daughter the grand event she deserves.
The rest of the film is
basically a journey through this evolving ordeal, culminating in one of the
most sumptuous ceremonies and gloriously lavish wedding receptions ever put on
film. Due to unforeseen circumstances George manages to miss out on just about
every pivotal moment of the reception, thanks to some mismanaged parking
arrangements that need to be straightened out.
In the end, he barely glimpses
his daughter’s happiness as she darts through the front door with Bryan into a
limo bound for the airport. The scene dissolves to the beginning, with George
and Nina seated side by side in their empty living room after all the wedding
guests have gone home. But George’s emptiness and disappointment are deflected
when Annie makes a last minute call from the airport, sincerely thanking her
father for making her big moment the perfect day. The bond between father and
daughter firmly restored, a renewed George engages Nina for a dance under an
arbor of dimmed outdoor lights. This magical moment caps off a
perfectly sentimental celebration about the ties that bind and enrich our lives.
Father
of the Bride
is a great movie, one that takes the sanctimony of marriage and turns
everything slightly askew before realigning our expectations for a tearful good
time. The sequel, Father of the Bride
Part II (1995) doesn’t quite reach such meteoric feel good heights as its
predecessor, but it’s still a far better excursion than Father’s Little Dividend (1951). On this second trip to Maple Drive,
Myers and Shyer throw out just about everything in their rewrite to indulge in
the fun and frenzied antics of having a baby. There’s a wrinkle, however.
It’s not just Annie who’s about to give birth. Having suffered a midlife
crisis, George has gone out, joined a gym and dyed his hair, returning to Nina for one night of passion that is about to cost
him everything. Nina becomes pregnant too.
Unable to reconcile what
his true feeling are about becoming a dad and a grandfather at the same time,
George blames Nina for the pregnancy; a misfire that understandably incurs
her anger and disappointment, forcing her to temporarily move out of the house.
Meanwhile, George has decided to sell their beloved home to Mr. Habib (Eugene
Levy); a wealthy developer who plans to demolish the property. At the last
possible moment, George comes to his senses, buys back his beloved home at an increased price, then reconciles with Nina, accepting that time has made him the grand old sage of
his family.
Once again, Franck and
Howard return, this time to coordinate building an addition onto the Banks’
house to accommodate their new arrival. They also plan a lavish baby shower for
Nina and Annie, complete with live storks. Annie and Bryan inform their parents
that his work will be taking them far away very soon for an extended period,
and our story concludes with a definite sense of finality – a poignant, if not
entirely memorable, second outing for this film franchise.
Father
of the Bride Part II
is not a bad film. In fact, it’s very much above average as far as sequels go.
But it understandably lacks the flourish and flare of the first movie because
its narrative cannot end on the high note of a spectacular celebration.
Instead, we conclude our visit on a note of practicality – a sort of ‘this is life…now get on with it’ message
that rings true enough, but is somewhat deadening to our cinematic expectations for
the proverbial ‘feel good’. We still get a warm and fuzzy feeling from this
sequel, but it doesn’t stick with us as much as the finale of the first film.
Well, it’s about time
Touchstone Home Video got around to releasing this much beloved and even more
strongly anticipated film franchise on Blu-ray. Does the Blu-ray live up to
expectations? Well…yes – and no. Yes, because in 1080p John Lindley’s slightly
diffused cinematography sharpens up with improved overall clarity. The DVD
releases of both films just looked overly soft and slightly blurry.
There are
also subtle refinements to the color palette. The DVDs often looked as though
the entire image had a curiously orange tint. Fine details, however, do not
jump out as much as one might expect and flesh tones still look pasty pinkish at best. Again, compared to
Touchstone’s previous incarnations in standard def, the transfer on both films
will be a revelation.
But is this as good as it
could have been? Arguably, no. Touchstone has made the ridiculous choice of
compressing both features onto a single Blu-ray, then giving us two more discs
– one DVD for each movie. Film restoration expert Robert A. Harris once wrote a comment - unrelated to this release - about Blu-ray being good – but not that good. His point is well taken herein. Essentially squeezing four hours of filmic
content onto one Blu-ray is bound to create compromises in the bit rate being utilized per feature. Also, Touchstone has chosen to forgo giving us a chapter search option on either feature. Dumb! Really, dumb!
The 5.1 DTS upgrades expose
subtle nuances in Alan Silvestri’s score. Dialogue still sounds manufactured in
spots and effects are very forward sounding. Again, overall, this is a marginal improvement at best.
Touchstone stiffs us on the
extra features for Father of the Bride
Part II on Blu-ray. We have to utilize their substandard DVD to listen to
the audio commentary and gain access to the featurettes for this movie. The Blu-ray does
contain the audio commentary for Part I
plus all of the featurettes that were included on the 15th anniversary
DVD. I have to say, more was expected from this release but Touchstone seems to
be making some suspect choices in their mastering efforts. Again, this is the
best Father of the Bride Parts I and II have ever looked on home video. But it’s
not a perfect presentation, and isn’t that what Blu-ray 1080p is supposed to
deliver?
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
Part I 4.5
Part II 3.5
VIDEO/AUDIO
3.5
EXTRAS
2
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