Le père de la mariée

The sweetness that "Father of the Bride" exudes does not stem from the fact that it is funny, but rather because it is honest. It's a remake of the 1950s Spencer Tracy classic (which is great in its own right), but has more warmth about it than that film did. It doesn't rely on slapstick as much as it does on the realistic and ironic lead performance by Steve Martin. This is Martin's second favorite film that he has starred in (behind "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" and followed by "Little Shop of Horrors"), and I can see why.

Martin stars as George Banks, a wealthy upper-class businessman living in Suburban America with a gentle wife (Diane Keaton) and feisty son (Kieran Culkin). His oldest daughter (Kimberly Williams) has finally grown up and departed the house, and the day she comes home with a fiancée he literally has a panic attack.

She's getting married to possibly the most sensitive man in the world, but George is oblivious to this. All he sees are two big words flashing about the room: LOSING and DAUGHTER. But he is even more upset when he realizes the cost of the wedding: about a couple hundred dollars per head, multiplied by six hundred. You do the math.

Nina (Keaton) and her daughter hire Franck Eggelhoffer to handle the wedding, and Eggelhoffer is one of Martin Short's finest roles. Short, an ex-"SNL" member, and star of "Three Amigos" (which also starred Martin), is simply hilarious as the ecstatic and eccentric Frenchman. Amidst the ceremony's setup procedures, George cannot believe he is the only one who realizes just how crazy the cost of the wedding is.

Let's get this straight: "Father of the Bride" is nothing great. It's been done before, and it will be done again (and it has). Yet because of a likable and warm presence, the movie is more than just the sentimental goo that it nearly becomes at certain points throughout. It's truthful, blunt, and occasionally rather funny, which makes for an entertaining and extremely likable motion picture.

This is not Steve Martin's greatest role. That honor would go to his portrayal of frustrated advertising executive Neal Page in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." But here he provides us with a character almost as realistic, touching and likable. Neal was the character we empathized with in "Planes," and in "Bride" it's essentially the same for Martin. We're seeing the world through his eyes - which explains the reason it is quite often very overwhelming and comical.

The movie indeed benefits from Martin's portrayal of a worried father - not as scared by the fact that his daughter is getting married, as he is by the idea that he will undoubtedly lose her to another man. It's a turning point in both their lives, but it doubles for him. Not only has he essentially lost his daughter, but also he has also just been faced with the reality that he is old enough to nearly be a granddad. This would leave good room for a sequel. Oh, wait...

4/5 stars.

• John Ulmer

I first viewed this film when I was about ten years old or so. I instantly fell in love with it and added it to my collection a few days later. This heart warming film tells the tale of a dad struggling to cope with his daughter's impending marriage to a man he's just met. Played by Steve Martin, George Banks delivers a praise worthy comedic performance as he falls into the in laws pool and meets with the wedding planner, Frank, played by the ever inspiring Martin Short. Father of the Bride welcomes newcomer Kimberley Williams to the screen. She gives a decent performance as an ordinary girl in love. There is nothing spectacular about her acting or even her character for that matter. Fans will be pleased to know that she stars in an ABC family original movie entitled "Lucky Seven", in which her character is much more complex. This film as a whole is belly busting hilarious yet never loses the touching effect it was designed to create. A favorite among families and heartbroken women alike, Father of the Bride is a film to be treasured.

OK, OK, the characters are a little bit "Brady Bunch" - sweet little Annie, the perfect daughter, George, the doting and totally befuddled father, and Nina, the soothing, calming, hold-it-all-together wife and mother. They're a little bit larger than life in this classic comic, but who cares! For any father who loves his daughter, this movie simply can't be watched without feeling a tearing at the heart and a lump in the throat. Father of The Bride can be viewed purely as a bit of light-hearted comedy that mocks the way Dads can sometimes be, but by looking just a little deeper, it contains valuable information that could help many a daughter understand her Dad, and offers many a Dad some consolation that he is not alone, and that someone out there understands the separation pains he is going through as his most precious treasure begins to spread her wings and look elsewhere than the first man she ever loved. This is a tough time for many fathers, and mothers and daughters very often don't understand their erratic, paranoid and irrational behaviour. Father of The Bride explores this phenomenon with what was for me an amazingly accurate depiction of the emotional turmoil that goes on in the head of a man who cherishes his daughter's love and feels threatened and reduntant when another man enters the picture. Goodrich and Hackett have constructed it brilliantly, and Steve Martin expresses it perfectly in this most elegant of love stories. The movie takes some shortcuts - for most of us, the separation pains don't do us the courtesy of waiting till the engagement - they come much earlier than that, when out of the blue some stranger comes into our daughter's life. Martin demonstrates the pain and fear and anxiety that every daughter's Dad feels as some blow-in comes and lays a claim on his beloved child. A must for every Dad with a teen princess, and for the Mums and Daughters I strongly recommend that instead of just laughing and saying "hahahah - that's Dad all over", read between the lines to see just why Dad is the way he is. Loved it every time I've seen it (3 or 4 times now).

I've watched Father Of The Bride numerous times over the years and it's still a good family comedy to watch Steve Martin gives a hilarious and heartwarming performance. I laughed at the way Martin's character acted when his daughter announced her wedding plans and the scene that was touching was when father and daughter were outside and snow began falling it was nice.

Martin Short's role as Franck Eggelhoffer was both comical and very funny. George Banks (Martin) a middle class man and owner of a sports shoe company has it all a great job, a nice house, a beautiful wife Nina (Keaton) and son Matt (Culkin). He's in for the surprise of his life when his 22 year old daughter Annie (Williams) comes home and announces that she's getting married to Bryan MacKenzie (Newburn)a computer genius from a wealthy family.

From then on George is in a constant state of panic because the wedding will cost too much and the fact that his daughter is grown up. However by the end of the movie he finally accepts that his daughter is an adult and has her own life.

The rest of the cast gave great performances I recommend this movie to fans of Steve Martin who enjoy his comedy antics 8/10.

I remember a few years ago seeing Father of the Bride on TV, but of course it's edited and I never finished it, it's sad, I call myself a Steve Martin fan and never finished this movie. It's such a classic in itself and is just a nice family film that's a good watch. So I decided to rent Father of the Bride the other day, I just love this movie. It's one of the rare films that is genuinely good and just means to entertain you, your family and friends as well. Steve Martin makes such a great over protective dad, as much as he drives his daughter crazy in the film, you still gotta love him that he's so protective over his baby girl. Father of the Bride is a great comedy and is a good watch with it's sweet story and lovable characters. Before Meet the Parents, there was Father of the Bride.

George has an excellent life: good job, nice home, beautiful wife, and two loving kids, one of which is his daughter who has just come home from Rome getting her masters in architecture and announces she's getting married to a man she met there, Bryan. George is going crazy, loosing his baby girl so fast and now having to deal with not being the main guy in her life that she will go too for help. George has to also deal with the crazy wedding planner, Franck Eggelhoffer, trying to break up his daughter and her fiancée, and Bryan's rich parents.

Father of the Bride is a good film and I really recommend it, it's one of those films that you get a few good laughs for and just feel good afterwards. Steve Martin made George such a lovable character, even though he's trying to break up his daughter and her fiancée, you could understand why through his narration and the way he talks, every dad could relate too. Martin Short as Franck Eggelhoffer is a little over done, but still delivers good laughs. Father of the Bride is a just a fun movie that anyone could enjoy, it gives good laughs and might even make you shed a tear.

7/10