The People We Hate At The Wedding – A Dysfunctional Blunder

Dysfunctional family comedies are not a new concept by any means but their main differentiator is often their cast. When it comes to the long-titled The People We Hate At The Wedding, based on the book of the same name by Grant Ginder, it boasts a great cast which will more than likely be enough for a lot of viewers. However, that cast is unfortunately wasted by a film that commits the cardinal sin of being incredibly dull on top of not being funny. Running at a brisk 100 minutes, it will undoubtedly be a challenge for some. That being said, others are also sure to connect to some of its lighter moments and moments of dysfunction. Ultimately, that’s the reason these kinds of films are made since as long as audiences keep seeing themselves within these stories and their characters. In this case, the film is more of a smattering of moments more so than an actual story. Jumping between a mess of subplots and tones, it never hits any as it seemed unsure of what it truly wanted to be, essentially throwing everything at the wall and hoping something stuck. In the end, nothing did.

The People We Hate At The Wedding follows the exploits of a dysfunctional family who have since become estranged from one another over the years. Offering somewhat of a backstory to establish the reason behind that estrangement, it essentially didn’t matter as the main takeaway was that these people were supposed to be the worst. While there’s some entertainment there, it does get old fairly fast. Eventually, Donna (Janney), Paul (Platt), and Alice (Bell) would get the chance to reunite as they were all invited to Paul and Alice’s half-sister and Donna’s daughter from a previous marriage, Eloise’s (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) wedding in London. From there, the three got to be the worst together in a new city. Subjecting each other to their respective quirks, more dysfunction ensued until the three began to face some consequences of sorts. Heading towards a redemption angle in trying to tie everything together, it simply didn’t work as the film takes a jarring turn as it dove deeper into its characters and in that aforementioned backstory.

Being absolutely insufferable to watch, that predictable redemption angle was not earned whatsoever. Where The People We Hate At The Wedding lives or dies is that connection with its characters. Divisive for sure, that connection is sure to go both ways in spite of the cast. If anything, they were at least fun to watch even though the writing did not do them any favors as the film is as insufferable at times as it is unfunny though the overall commitment is commendable. While Donna, Paul, Alice, and Eloise are thin, viewers are given little reason to want to know more about them let alone care. Suffice it to say that Janney, Platt, and Bell and their chemistry are the best part of the film but they are also wasted as those moments of them riffing off of each other are surprisingly few and far between with the film appearing to favor keeping them separate to redeem Donna, Paul, and Alice. Though limited in appeal, leaning more towards the former would have fared a lor better than whatever the final product was.

At the end of the day, The People We Hate At The Wedding isn’t necessarily a film that people will hate but it is certainly one that people won’t care for or remember after the credits roll. While its cast will be a draw, they’ve all done much better in countless other projects. Prospective viewers are better served just sticking to any of those.

still courtesy of Amazon Studios

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.