Kiss the Bride

I saw this film at the Sarasota film festival last year. it was the opening film. I was excited to see it since it was the opener of the festival but was quite shocked to see how pitiful the storyline was! It was a complete ripoff of My Big Fat Greek Wedding! I am so surprised that such an amatuer filmmaker got to have the opening film!! The jokes were weak, acting was poor, storyling was cliche and boring, characterization was missing, and I left questioning how this film got made...

I found Kiss the Bride to be an edgy, enjoyable, movie ride with some superbly timed dramatic and comedic surprises along the way.

The pace of the movie was good and the score was great - it really complemented the goings-on on screen. The characters all showed varying degrees of insight into familial relationships, making choices about life, and then reevaluating those life choices. Some questions got resolved and answered, to some degree, during the course of the movie, others remained open-ended and unresolved - a lot like life. The characters also showed some pretty human flaws like insensitivity, self absorption, ingratitude. Put all together, it made for a very good movie. Sit back and enjoy!

I am a huge fan of Sean Patrick Flanery, I am not kidding. His work and not to mention his beautiful looks always get me, and when I noticed at Hollywood Video they had Kiss the Bride, I didn't hesitate to pick it up and watch it at home. Yes, I was a bit shallow, I kinda watched it just to see Sean, because I love him so. But I got more than that, I got an nice and honest movie about sisterhood and how differences can tear and pull back together a family. The acting and movie in general is a good one with some water wrenching moments. Although there were a few things they could have patched up, like some of the plots were not ending well or the characters could have been more developed, over all this is a movie I would recommend for a watch.

7/10

I watched this movie on a commercial channel. Despite the commercial interruptions, I was surprised and impressed with the writing and the Direction. Filled with talented actors (Talia Shire and Burt Young of "Rocky" fame team up again, this time as husband and wife) who deliver, this film reminded me of "The Big Chill", because it is an ensemble effort, and it works. Allisa Milano (bit part) gives a great performance as an angry love interest, and the rest of the cast takes turns delivering strong performances that resonate emotionally. I believed the stories that these actors told; they developed characters that are familiar to us all. A bit smarmy, and perhaps predictable, nevertheless this movie has high entertainment value, for those who enjoy a good chick flick. A good movie to watch with someone you care for. ~abc

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')