186. Destination Wedding; movie review

DESTINATION WEDDING
Cert 15
87 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language, sex

Against my better judgment, I was recently lured in by one of the endless string of lists which pop up on Facebook or YouTube.
And number one 'down to earth' celebrity was none other than Keanu Reeves.
It turns out that everyone who meets Keanu has a tale of his meekness, generosity or fun spirit.
That leaves me feeling a bit of a heel for spending the past eight years decrying his acting ability.
The irony of Destination Wedding is that Reeves' character is a self-confessed insular misery whose acid tongue could turn down the lips of the most joyful smiles. In other words, nothing like real-life Keanu.
His character, Frank, begrudgingly accepts an invitation to his brother's wedding a special wine country retreat.

In the queue for a very small plane is an equal cynic (Winona Ryder) who is his brother's old flame and is also going to the nuptials.
Ryder's character, Lindsay, is antagonised by Frank pushing ahead of her in the queue and so begins a long but clever dialogue about what they both think is wrong with the world and themselves.
Victor Levin's film has the feel of a two-hand theatre piece with Frank and Lindsay continually thrown into each other's path and verbal fisticuffs
There are echoes of the dialogue and delivery style of Woody Allen and, yes, there are a sprinkling of funny moments thanks to some well-observed farce surrounding the destination wedding.
I'm not a huge fan of Reeves' usual monotone acting style but this reminded me of when I first knew him in Parenthood and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.
Ok, he is playing someone with a much greater vocabulary and who is definitely not wide-eyed but he looks more alive to be playing comedy rather than his usual action anti-heroes.
He says that he was psyched to be opposite Winona Ryder again and the two have clear chemistry.
I can't recall the last time I saw her but it was pleasing to be reacquainted with an actress who was such a big star in the early 90s.
The result of their fast quips was a far more engaging and entertaining movie than I had expected although, in some parts, it is a little too smart.

Reasons to watch: Sharp dialogue which proves Keanu Reeves can act
Reasons to avoid: Too smart for its own good

Laughs: Chuckles rather than laughs
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? The average cost of a UK wedding, is £30,111, according to Brides Magazine.

The final word. Winona Ryder: "The biggest thing for me was the opportunity to get to work with Keanu again. It was a very surprising script in that it doesn’t really have the tropes that a lot of romantic comedies do. In a strange way, it’s kind of for grown-ups. It’s refreshing and sort of a challenge. It was a special time. Any time with Keanu is a special time for me." Ew.com

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