Kiss the Bride

In case you've been wondering what Burt Young and Talia Shire have been doing lately, Kiss the Bride will let you rest assured that they are still churning out roles in Italo-American crowd pleasers. If you aren't particularly interested in what Burt Young and Talia Shire have been doing lately, then there's absolutely no reason to watch this film. Director Vanessa Parise's Kiss the Bride, is a shamelessly derivative, utterly superfluous contribution to the current inundation of ethnic wedding films. It should be coming soon to your nearest cable station. That's where it belongs.

The Sposato sisters are returning to the family home to attend Danni's (Amanda Detmer) wedding. The oldest Nikki (Brooke Langton) is in a sexy TV show as eye candy. Chrissy (Vanessa Parise) is a high power investment banker on Wall Street. The youngest Toni (Monet Mazur) is still trying to shock bringing her lesbian lover Amy (Alyssa Milano).

It's a lot of sisterly function and dysfunction. This is low budget indie with its heart in the right place. Everybody has a problem, and everybody has to work through it. The missing element is the comedy. There may be a few cute moments, but there isn't a real funny joke in this. I don't know if writer/director/actor Vanessa Parise has it in her, but this script is in need of a funny writer. The jokes would counter balance the more serious stuff. It would make the movie more poignant.

I don't understand why movies try to portray characters of a certain religion when they don't know anything about the religion. I saw the sign of the cross made with the left hand, heard that the church is wrong in teaching that marital intercourse should not be enjoyed (what?!? the Church doesn't teach that at all!), and a supposed Catholic conservative couple get married outside the Church. It takes minimal knowledge to know these and yet they didn't bother to figure it out. It was a cheesy, brainless movie otherwise. If you are looking for a predictable movie that doesn't require your full attention, then this could be what you are seeking.

I work at a video store and thus get free rentals. I picked up "Kiss the Bride" on a whim. Lately I have been coming on IMDb right as I start a movie and when I saw the 5.5 rating I almost didn't bother watching it, but as I had nothing better to do I watched it anyway (anything is better than homework right?) Anyway, I started watching it and was pleasantly surprised. It is a fairly light hearted romance, but it had such a true life aspect to it that i felt that anyone could relate to someone in the film and thus it would resonate that much closer to people. You have these four very different sisters who grew up in a very traditional Catholic Italian family, they went their separate ways when they reached adulthood and are all now reuniting for the wedding of the one sister who never left the family or the families values behind. It shows all the closeness sisters can have with out being syrupy and while showing the conflicts and the competitiveness they feel to each other. People have complained it is a rip off of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". But it is not. This is a much more simpler film. Yes you have a big family and the groom-to-be becomes a part of it but this movie is just more realistic. I'd definitely recommend it to someone who wants to laugh a little maybe cry a bit and just have a good time watching a fun movie. It's not over the top like "My Best Friends Wedding" and it just is a gem of a film. I don't know just my thoughts and feelings...

In Rhode Island, in the Italo-American family Sposato, Danni (Amanda Detmer) is going to marry Geoffrey Brancato (Johnathon Schaech). Danni is virgin, lives with her parents Santo (Burt Young) and Irena (Talia Shire) and is the third and 'the good daughter' of her family. Her three sisters come for her wedding: the older Nikki (the gorgeous Brooke Langton), a successful TV starlet, who works in a TV show very similar to 'Baywatch'. Nikki brings her boy-friend and manager Marty Weinberg (Johnny Whitworth) to be introduced to her family. Chrissy (Vanessa Parise), who deals with investments in Wall Street; and the rebel younger Toni (Monet Mazur), who plays in a rock-and- roll band with her lesbian lover Amy Kayne (Alissa Milano). Together, they have meals in the restaurant of Tom Terranova (Sean Patrick Flanery), the former and first love of Nikki. Many discussions in the breast of the Sposato family show wounds not healed, when the characters expose their real feelings.

This lovely low budget movie is a gem about themes related to family, relationship, love, feeling, religion and sex. I respect, but do not understand the unfair 'IMDB User Rating' of only 5.6, specially after seeing the 'Demographic Breakdown', the 'Arithmetic Mean' of 7.8 and the 'Median' of 9. The story about a Latin Catholic family is wonderful and the performances of the beautiful cast are excellent. There is romance, comedy and drama in right doses. I was particularly impressed with the beauty of Brooke Langton, and the wonderful smile of Vanessa Parise. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): 'O Beijo da Noiva' ('The Kiss of the Bride')