Second Hand Wedding

I went to see this with my wife at the Lighthouse Theater in Petone. I was pleased to see a little Kiwi film so well supported by the sold out audience. Secondhand Wedding didn't disappoint. A tight, funny script with some well delivered acting carefully/skillfully directed.

The lead rolls were all good performances but better than that was the depth of the minor parts. Even the smallest of rolls were handled with skill nobody jarred... well John may have been a bit hammy but he worked it… :) NZ movie acting seems to have come of age.

The lines are funny. At one point I wondered how well it will be received outside of NZ because of the local jokes... and then I wondered if anyone outside of the grater Wellington area would get it but I think there are enough universal truths to make this delightful movie a hit anywhere.

Technically the Viper digital camera it was shot on delivered some good pictures. I doubt anyone seeing it would spot it wasn't shot on film. I did think it could have been graded a bit warmer, the normally fantastic Kapiti sunset was a bit nothing and there seemed to be a few random focus issues but those are minor niggles. I really enjoyed Secondhand Wedding, it was a lighthearted, well done and proves Kiwi's can do comedy and there are niches out there other than horror.

This movie starts slowly but draws you into the life of a family with one daughter, about to get married if only she can avoid her mother's penchant for doing things on the cheap.

The actors are quietly confident in their roles, very believable as a family and group of friends. There are no token celebrities or models in this probably inexpensively made film, the characters are ordinary people going through a couple of months of excitement, disappointment, fear and happiness, with lots of laughs thrown in. Yes the storyline is predictable, but since much of life is too, that doesn't make this film anything but good.

You will shed a few tears, get lots of laughs from the garage sales and the mad characters shopping there, shudder at some of the images which may be too close to home (think gnomes), and ultimately leave the theatre smiling. Not a bad thing I feel.

I am a judge for the Indianapolis-based Heartland Film Festival. This feature film is a Crystal Heart Award Winner and is eligible to be the Grand Prize Winner in October of 2008. The Heartland Film Festival is a non-profit that honors Truly Moving Pictures. A Truly Moving Picture "…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life."

Jill Rose is both at the same time a middle-age wonderful mother and wife and an awkward embarrassment. The latter is due to her penchant for continuously going to garage sales and second hand shops looking for bargains and then bringing them home and never giving them up. The house is filled with these bargains that her husband tolerates and her daughter Cheryl abhors.

Cheryl becomes engaged and is so afraid that her mother will take over and arrange a used or bargain or second hand wedding that she can't bring herself to tell her the good news. Unfortunately, everyone else knows including Cheryl's father. Jill finds out from an unfriendly co-worker and the mother and daughter and husband become estranged.

In all other aspects of her life, Jill is normal and useful. She is the Assistant Superintendent of her local New Zeeland school and is respected and has lots of friends. And her obsessive collecting and bargain hunting is funny. She can laugh at herself and at her hobby and can make others laugh along with her.

This is a story of how a faithful and loving and tolerant family handles an important situation in their lives. Their core values are more important than their quirks and peculiarities.

This appears to be a low budget film, but it looks good on the screen with the beautiful New Zeeland coastline as a backdrop. And the actors, while unfamiliar to me, uniformly were believable from the main actors to the townspeople actors.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.

Second Hand Wedding is the kind of film that could make a 40-something, 6', 120kg rugby fan sniffle & wipe away more than one spontaneous affliction of "eye leakage" (NOT crying). Not me you understand, just a figure of speech... In the genre of 4 Weddings, Nottinghill, Love Actually, SHW is a roller-coaster happy/sad/happy ride which had me smiling inanely all the way home - in fact I'm smiling again as I type this review! Great locations (Raumati/Paraparaumu never looked so enticing), great casting (Geraldine Brophy as the Mum is the one you want to adopt and take home !) and the total package does not disappoint in any way. All up a total and absolute emotional tank filler. It'll make you feel good about life. It'll make you smile at strangers on the way home. It'll make you want to get up early the next morning to take your wife a cup of tea in bed. It'll make you want to write a review for it even though your less eloquent than you want to be and have never written a review before. Got it? Its that good.

Went to the premiere of this film in Wellington, while I was in NZ doing post production of a new film. Wasn't sure what to expect but was delighted that it was a completely entertaining, well crafted, thoroughly enjoyable film. Romantic comedies are a lost art these days and director Paul Murphy, in his first film to helm, has the gift. I think we'll see great things from him.

I was a bit worried I wouldn't "get" the film, being a Yank, but was happily surprised to see that even though there were a handful of moments that the audience erupted in laughter and I hadn't a clue, it didn't affect my experience at all. I think the film should definitely have an international life. It could do very nicely in the States in a limited, art house release, and then a long, healthy, successful run on cable and DVD.

If you get a chance to see this film, grab it. Charming movie that sneaks up on you and might even elicit a tear or two between laughs. Don't miss it.