Petit Mariage entre amis

I saw this film at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan and I really enjoyed it. Directed and starring Edward Burns, this was actually an entertaining movie even though it had some of the clichéd things going in the story. Ed Burns is about to marry Brittany Murphy, and the film is about the last few days leading up to the wedding. The part drama part comedy did a good job of portraying longtime friendship and the troubles everyone goes through to keep their friendship together.

I really enjoyed the ensemble, and was actually surprised how good Matthew Lillard was in it. He still had some of his goofy quirks like his usual movie characters, but he acted like an adult in this film. John Leguizamo also did a nice job playing one of the friends that has a secret. Jay Mohr was really the comic part of the film, and I didn't mind, his scenes were funny and amusing.

Overall, Ed Burns made a great buddy picture. Though some of the storyline was pretty familiar, it was well executed and in the end was a lot of fun.

This movie was great, because it took a real life situation and made it fun and entertaining. One of the reasons I liked this movie so much is I thought the casting was excellent. Every actor and actress fit and portrayed their character so well. Even the those that were not the main characters were excellent and made it an Ensemble Cast. The movie flowed and always kept you laughing. I really liked the music. Ed chose some great hits from the past and there was a new one at the end, Four Cheers that was excellent. I liked the way the music would move you into the next scene. In fact I've been singing the songs ever since I saw the movie. I definitely recommend this movie.

The new Ed Burns movie, The Groomsmen, is the seemingly simple story of friends coming together to celebrate an upcoming wedding. Paulie (Ed Burns), the soon-to-be groom/father, is the central character around whom the others revolve. The groomsmen (Jay Mohr, Donal Logue, John Leguizamo, and Matthew Lillard) gather in their home town before the big day, having decided to fore go the "traditional bachelor party" in order to relive the best time of their lives when the most important things were Beer, Baseball and the Band.

Along the way to recapturing their youth, snippets of dissatisfaction, insecurity and regret are woven into the story. With skillful editing and realistic dialogue, Mr. Burns subtly strips away the macho banter, allowing the audience to get to know and care about these life-long friends. In each scene with an individual groomsman, Paulie (the former tag-along little brother) seems to be giving, rather than receiving, advice and in doing so works through his own pre-nuptial jitters. While counseling his old friends he comes to realize he's almost lost his newest friend. The seemingly simplistic resolutions are actually testaments to lasting friendships in which a nod and a hug are all that are necessary to realize you do have the best of both worlds.

This really is such a good movie: the characters are well-developed, the acting is understated, the cinematography is beautiful and the music is not only good, but pertinent. The audience is made to feel a part of it. Thank you, Mr. Burns et al, for 90 minutes of entertainment and hours of discussion on what makes these guys tick. I'm not just going to recommend this movie to my friends, I'll be going back to see it with them! Four Cheers!!

Fresh from the Seattle International Film Festival --

The Groomsmen is a poignant look at relationships and forgiveness; true friendship, spousal, sibling, parent-child, and ex's. It provides a great blend of comedy and drama to not be too heavy, yet stay truly thought provoking. At times the character development scenes were a bit long, but forgivable overall. The cast is amazing, you easily forget their previously roles and see them only as the lifelong friends that they portray in this movie. The soundtrack is an excellent trip back to the rock of the 80's with the likes of Loverboy and Eddie Money. I would recommend this movie to women and men alike. It has something for everybody!

Thank you, Matt, for visiting us in Seattle!

This must be said: "The Groomsmen" was a great and highly underrated film. I follow independent cinema moderately closely, and I don't actually remember this film coming out in theaters. I don't see why it wouldn't have, given the cast of the film. The lead actors in this movie are mostly well-respected in the entertainment industry, if they're not A-listers already. So it's surprising to me this film didn't get a wider release than it actually did.

I found it on DVD in my local video store. I loved Edward Burns in "The Brothers McMullen", "She's The One", and "Saving Private Ryan", so I thought another movie directed by him would be good. I saw it, and it turns out I was right: I really liked the film a lot. Like "McMullen" especially, the movie revolves around guys who live around Long Island, some who are married, and a few who are single, and their struggle to commit. There are a lot of laughs in the film, but it also has a great amount of heart to it. Burns is great playing the laid-back, funny guy he normally plays in his films. Even better, the guys who played his friends, namely Matthew Lillard, Donald Logue (who actually plays his brother), Jay Mohr, and John Leguizamo, were all better than I thought they would be. All of them probably give the best performances of their career (especially Leguizamo).

That being said, here's what the back cover of the DVD says: "The countdown to Paulie's (Edward Burns) wedding . . . reunites Paulie's childhood pals for a week-long raucous bachelor party filled with laughs at every turn. Join in the revelry as this wild bunch relives their glory days with hilarious antics that you'll never forget." The front artwork shows the four friends behind Burns. Burns is smiling, giving Brittany Murphy a piggyback ride in her wedding gown, and wearing a T-shirt that reads "HELP!" in bright red letters. So from this DVD artwork, I thought this film was a frat-house comedy/bachelor party comedy about a guy who wants to go for one final fling before tying the knot. It's unfortunate, too, because that's not at all what the movie is about. Guys who want to see that kind of raunchy, mindless comedy will be sorely disappointed, while other guys who want to see a smart comedy about relationships and camaraderie will pass this movie by in the video store, or even on Netflix. Why do these DVD artwork designers do that? It really ruins the film's credibility in the long run.

Fortunately, I picked out the film because I like Edward Burns, and it exceeded my expectations tenfold. The film had its faults, such as some scenes that went on for longer than they should have. But overall, the film serves as an example of how romantic comedies should be. Other directors who work with higher budget films that star Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts should take a hint from Burns. He knows how to make a much better film on a much lower budget.