By NYDailyNews.com
The stereotypes that propel Rick Famuyiwa’s romantic comedy are nothing if not aggressive. But Famuyiwa and his screenwriters are equal opportunity offenders, and so cheerfully up-front about it that “Our Family Wedding” winds up feeling more authentic than, say, “Valentine’s Day.”
Like that star-studded smash, “Wedding” begins in LA on February 14th. Miguel (Carlos Mencia) has forgotten the holiday completely, much to the annoyance of his long-suffering wife (Diana-Maria Riva). But soon they have bigger issues: their daughter Lucia (America Ferrera) is leaving school, getting married, and moving overseas.
What bothers Miguel most is that Lucia’s fiancé, Marcus (Lance Gross), is not Latino but African-American. Marcus’s father (Forest Whitaker) is equally against the impending union, and happily matches Miguel’s racial insults. The women on both sides are disgusted by the men’s behavior, but do their best to ignore it while planning a wedding that quickly spirals out of control.
The cast is much too good for this sort of silliness, but everyone commits to the broad script with impressive sincerity. And while some may recoil at the heavy-handed humor, there’s a generosity beneath that’s sadly lacking in typical Hollywood fare. Most wedding movies are packed with homogenized families, size-zero bodies and uptight bridezillas, dishonest clichés that are now so accepted they feel far more insidious and offensive.
In fact, Ferrera and Gross are the most appealing pair I’ve seen in some time, their calm confidence a welcome antidote to the neurotic, unrealistic couples that have been cluttering our screens–in movies like “Valentine’s Day”–for much too long.
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