Father of the Bride (1991)

12.19.2021

Father of the Bride. What can I say about this movie that hasn't been said? This movie (at least to me as the reviewer) oozes nostalgia, making me yearn for a time when things just seemed so simple.

Father of the Bride was released in 1991 by Touchstone Pictures and has since been considered a cult favorite.

The universal idea of a parent dreading the day he/she has to "give away" a child for marriage (especially a daughter) is one that I think a lot of parents have thought of (or at least sympathize with)- a time when, although still remaining a parent to the child, the parent realizing their child is grown with a life of their own separate from the parent.

That's what Father is all about: A parent (father) having to go through the struggle of not only having to now see his daughter as the adult she has become but also becoming a married daughter who has her own life beginning, separate from the family unit that has been in place for two decades.

Steve Martin's character, George Banks, is a family man. He is a self-employed owner of a successful sneaker company Side kicks and is the (assumed) main breadwinner of the household. He's the kind of guy who would do anything for his children and likes things in life to be slow, simple, and with little change. As he says he's big on "car seats, seat belts, bedtimes, curfews, calling when you get somewhere, never running with a sharp object [...]".

So it's not unimaginable to think of how his reaction goes when he finds out that a big (and surprising) change comes his way when his daughter comes home from a month-long college trip abroad to Rome and announces that not only did she meet a man, but she's getting married. I think his reaction is exactly how most parents would think when they hear the news- shocked and unsure of what to do with the sudden information, the feelings of being replaced in a way- but ultimately happy for their child's happiness. George's wife, Nina (Diane Keaton) has the opposite reaction- she's immediately happy, congratulatory, and jumps in with the wedding plans. It's quite interesting to see how the two respond to the same situation- all coming from a place of love.

The family unit is the heart and soul of this movie. The movie is quite simple in plot, but the focus on Annie Banks (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) and George's father-daughter relationship is timeless. Throw in the triangle aspect of Annie's new husband Bryan MacKenzie (George Newbern) whom George immediately dislikes (he wears Nikes!) and you have the plot of a rather interesting (and entertaining!) real-life drama!

The humor of Father of the Bride comes mostly from Martin Short and B.D. Wong as Franck Eggelhoffer and Howard Weinstein. These two together create the perfect dynamic of an eccentric and level-headed business duo. I personally don't believe this movie would be quite the same without them.

All in all, I think Father of the Bride is the kind of movie that everyone should watch at least once in their lifetime. The storylines are timeless and definitely speak to everyone- whether you're someone wishing to get married and want a romance story, a parent of a child getting married and you want to watch something entertaining to laugh at together, or just someone looking for a feel-good movie, I highly recommend this film.