The Wedding Year (2019)

Directed by: Robert Luketic | 90 minutes | comedy | Actors: Sarah Hyland, Tyler James Williams, Jenna Dewan, Matt Shively, Anna Camp, Noureen DeWulf, Wanda Sykes, Kristen Johnston, Patrick Warburton, Keith David, Camille Hyde, Zora Bikangaga, Laci Mosley, Tom Connolly, Grace Helbig, Natasha Loring

Robert Luketic scored highly with ‘Legally Blonde’ (2001) and then took in a handful of romkoms and a single thriller. With ‘The Wedding Year’ he makes a new attempt to match the success of the successful Reese Witherspoon film. But without a solid script and talented actors in front of the camera, that won’t work.

‘The Wedding Year’ is about Mara, a 27-year-old single who is working on her “career” as a photographer in Los Angeles. She works in a boutique to pay for her apartment, for dinner she just swipes a nice man right on her iPhone. Despite her gay best friend Alex tells her that this is really not possible. Yet she meets up with the attractive Jake via Tinder. Jake has just graduated as a chef, but turns out not to be the chef at the expensive restaurant as he has put in his profile. However, after the pancakes he made (for dinner and breakfast), Mara and Jake really like each other and they spend more and more time together.

But then it happens: Mara and Jake are in the period when everyone around them wants to tie the knot. When there are no fewer than fifteen invitations for as many weddings on the table, Mara starts to feel anxious. First, there is the financial picture: who has the money for so many gifts, outfits and hotel stays? But she hates the idea of ​​going to all those weddings with Jake even more. After all, that means they are in a real relationship!

‘The Wedding Year’ follows Mara and Jake through this seemingly endless series of weddings. They meet each other’s family, make fun of the people at the altar, Mara drinks too much and makes a fool of herself when she sees how handsome Jake’s ex is… Jake’s brother’s wedding goes wrong; Aside from the runaway bride and the outdated demands Jake’s parents make of their daughter-in-law-to-be, Mara discovers that Jake herself has very different views of their future together.

The screenplay of ‘The Wedding Year’ seems to be a mix of all kinds of wedding romances from the nineties: from ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ to ‘The Runaway Bride’, all the clichés are there. Nothing in the screenplay is original, striking or even well thought out. However, that is not the biggest stumbling block: main character Mara has no way of arousing sympathy with her fake cheerfulness and superficial character. That is not due to the actress, but to the way in which her character is written. In the first scene we see her getting behind the wheel recklessly – under the influence, while she is getting ready. It also irritates that the screenwriter has given her a creative hobby that she would like to make her profession (cliché!). Her so-called development seems incredible. Actually, you’re wishing Jake another fiancé. And that is disastrous for a romantic comedy.