Jenny's Wedding

Jenny's Wedding is an under-appreciated film that I think will surprise many of you. It is one of many fine quality films that I find myself asking: Why didn't this get more than just an extremely shallow limited release? It certainly deserved better than only grossing a paltry $6244 worldwide, especially considering the end product.

Piloted by veteran screenwriter-director Mary Agnes Donaghue (Beaches, White Oleander), the movie starts with a well written script. It is bolstered by fine performances across the board from a talented cast that includes Katherine Heigl, Tom Wilkinson, Linda Edmund, Grace Gummer and Alexis Beidel. It's crew achieved high production values that would compare favorably with films 5 times their budget. It has all the ingredients to be a fine film and delivers on that promise.

Jenny's Wedding problem lies in Hollywood's inability to label it and know how to sell it rather than the film itself. It never meets the expectations unfairly placed on it by others to be a film it never pretended to be. It never was intended to be a laugh a minute comedy or a sappy love story or even a bold message film. It is an honest portrayal of how family members when placed in unfamiliar waters, may surprise or disappoint, themselves and others in how they act.

I think this film benefits greatly from being seen with out any expectations. I had the benefit of watching this film without seeing the trailer or reading the blurb, both which reveal too much about the story. I enjoyed how the story unfolded, the slightly surprising but not shocking plot twist, and the unpredictability of how family members act and react when conflict arises. It had a credible balance of painful and feel good moments that any normal family goes through. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Jenny's Wedding and hope you will too.

I liked this message overall, I think the story is great and I LOVE LOVE Katherine Heigl and Alexis Bledel so it pains me to say that the only thing wrong with this movie is them. They are not believable together as a couple, there is no chemistry and I absolutely feel like there has to be for a movie like this, a movie that relies so heavily on the main message being that Jenny is so perfectly and over the moon happy with Kitty. So happy and over the moon with Kitty that she would give up a family that she is so close with, namely her parents. I just didn't feel that with Katherine and Alexis, but, I liked the movie a lot overall.

Reading many reviews about this movie including some of the comments in the forum, I have came to a conclusion that many have either not really seen the movie, or made preconceived idea that the movie is bad because Katherine Heigl is in it. Add that that is a LGBT movie, than the movie really must be that horrible.

But, I have seen the movie and I liked it.

If you watch the movie with open mind, then you would actually see that the theme of the movie is quite great. It's a story about a family who had no idea that daughter/sister was a lesbian. That she is getting married to her "room-mate", who turns out wasn't really room-mate but her girlfriend of 5 years. It's a story of family coming to terms and dealing with facts, that they had been lied to for a long long time. It's very hard coming out to your family, because you never know how they will react, or say, or think of you. And this is why it has taken Jenny so long to come out to her family. Her fathers reaction is a very big reason why many stay in closet. A lot of reviewers say that Bledel and Heigl do not have chemistry. Considering that they shared very little screen time together, there really wasn't much time for it. And the movie really was not about their relationship.

It's not the movie of the years. It's not a movie that will earn countless awards. But give the movie a try, give Heigl a try because she was good in this role.

5.3 is way too low for this movie. An emotional family drama dealing with an uptight family's anxieties and prejudices and although the film is a fantasy and on the side of the angels it plays out what should happen if a family had to turn round and accept what is unacceptable to them. It is nice to see a main stream film that is not just the usual tired romantic comedy.

The actors do a good job. Tom Wilkinson and Linda Edmonde are excellent as the parents and have the meaty roles to play as they have the difficult journey to take. Family dynamics are played out well as a background to the story as well as the social network that the parents live in.

How this movie is currently averaging on 5.5 is beyond me. This movie is very well cast, directed, and written. Katherine Heigl sheds her reputation as a rom-com queen, and delivers an amazing performance. Tom Wilkinson, Linda Edmond, and Grace Gummer are superb in their supporting roles. This is a terrific story, that is very current, and well worth watching! Ignore the 5.5 average, and negative reviews - this movie is a winner.