Review: Wedding Bros – The Marconi Bros. (2008)

Directed by: Michael Canzoniero, Marco Ricci | 88 minutes | drama, comedy | Actors: Brendan Sexton III, Dan Fogler, Steven Randazzo, Nicholas De Cegli, Kelly-Ann Tursi, Marcia Jean Kurtz, George Morfogen, Ray Iannicelli, Diane Canzoniero, Kate Gersten, Jon Polito, Zoe Lister Jones, Patti D’Arbanville, Allen Warnock, Melanie Angelina Maras

Two single young men at a wedding where they don’t know anyone, but they still enjoy participating. Where have we seen that before? The subtitle of “Wedding Bros” is therefore not unambiguously chosen: “The original wedding crashers”. It’s a clear reference to the hit 2005 comedy “Wedding Crashers” starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. The tone has been set and expectations are high.

“Wedding Bros” tells the story of two brothers, Anthony (Brendan Sexton III) and Carmine (Dan Fogler) Marconi. They work in the family’s floor covering business and thus lay carpets. When the brothers end up in Lou’s large, luxurious house, they find his recording equipment and a lot of films in the basement. The good man makes wedding films and that did him no harm. For the brothers, it started with an idea to record a commercial for the carpet trade, but soon they left the family business to join Lou and step into the wonderful world of wedding cinematography.

One of the protagonists, Brendan Sexton, is said to have laid a carpet for three days in preparation for his role. You naturally want to present your role as convincingly as possible. The problem with “Wedding Bros” is just not whether credible carpet is actually being laid; those three days could have been better spent writing the script and coming up with good jokes. “Wedding Bros” misses the point on all fronts. The comedy duo Sexton and Fogler is not likeable or funny. That goes for all characters by the way. The story has been put together incredibly without inspiration. Just like the characters: not funny, likable or believable. In addition, the time image that is portrayed in the film is not correct. One moment it’s about VHS, the next you see a Porsche Cayenne driving by.

This is a movie that just doesn’t want to be funny and is a far cry from a movie like “Wedding Crashers”. Tastes differ, but it is unimaginable that someone will be pleased with this.