The best wedding films
Everyone loves wedding films! 🙂 There are loads of films on this theme; you could say it’s one of the film industry’s favourite subjects. However, in what follows we’d like to present a list of kinousers, which features more than just American comedies. The list includes classics as well as lesser-known films, both light-hearted and poignant, all exploring the theme of weddings.
Let’s take a look at the list:
Classic American wedding films:
A massive Greek wedding—My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) – American comedy
Everyone in the Portokalos family is worried about Toula, who is 30, single and works in her father’s restaurant. Toula wants more than that, so she starts going to school and working at her aunt’s travel agency. Before long, she meets Ian, who works as a teacher; he is tall and not Greek at all. Things are going well between them; all that remains is to introduce Ian to Toula’s family. Toula can’t decide which her father will react more badly to: the fact that Ian isn’t Greek, or that he’s a vegetarian!
Four Weddings, One Funeral-Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) – American drama
Charles and his friends are unlucky in love. Charles meets the beautiful Andie at a wedding, and for a moment he feels that his luck might have turned! After a wonderful evening, however, Andie flies back to the United States, bringing to an end something that hadn’t really even begun. Later, however, fate ensures that their paths keep crossing. Charles begins to feel that he and Andie belong together, even if the timing is never quite right.
A stunning woman-Runaway Bride (1999) – American comedy
Ike Graham, a journalist, is looking for material for his latest article. In a pub, he hears the story of Maggie Carpenter, who always runs away from the altar on her big day. Ike writes a mocking article about Maggie’s story, for which he is sacked because he has crossed the line by failing to verify the truth of the story. Ike wants his job back, so he comes up with the idea of visiting Maggie and writing the true story. Maggie, incidentally, is now preparing to walk down the aisle for the fourth time.
A classic among wedding films – as far as comedies go!
Rachel's wedding—Rachel Getting Married (2008) – American drama
The whole family, along with Rachel’s friends, gather for her wedding. Her younger sister Kym, who is regarded by the family as the black sheep, also attends. During the wedding, long-forgotten family problems and tragedies resurface, and Kym’s sharp remarks do nothing to help the situation – in fact, they lead to some unforeseen complications! Can the wedding still be saved?
Let the wedding procession stop—My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) – American comedy
Michael and Julianne have been best friends for a very long time. One day, however, Julianne realises that she feels more for Michael than just friendship. A little later, Michael rings her to tell her he’s marrying his girlfriend, Kimberly. You could say the timing is really bad! Julianne springs into action, asking her gay friend to pretend to be her fiancé, thereby making Michael jealous! Another classic wedding comedy starring Julia Roberts.
The godfather-The Father of the Bride (1991) – American comedy
A wedding film from a slightly different perspective. George’s daughter is getting married! He can’t believe his daughter is all grown up already, and sees the whole wedding as a tragedy! He thinks the groom and his family are awful, and that the wedding will be a complete disaster! Will he eventually come to terms with the situation?
Little-known wedding films:
The History of Palm Beach-The Palm Beach Story (1942) – an American comedy
Tom and Gerry Jeffers are a married couple from New York who haven’t been particularly lucky financially of late, and this has also taken its toll on their marriage. However, there are even bigger problems in their relationship. Gerry decides it would be better if they went their separate ways, so she packs her bags and sets off for Palm Beach, Florida. Her plan is to get a divorce first, then find a second husband who can help Tom. Whilst on the train, she meets John, who is the richest man in the world.
That’s when the excitement really kicks off! Tom follows Gerry to Palm Beach, where they meet up; Gerry introduces John as his older brother. John’s sister turns up too, and she’s instantly smitten with Tom – and the story hasn’t even really begun yet! A plot-twisting, humorous, authentic American comedy, typical of the first half of the last century!
A story set in Philadelphia -The Philadelphia Story (1940) – an American comedy
The story is about the daughter of an American family belonging to the upper echelons of society. She is constantly in the headlines because of her scandalous lifestyle. She has recently got divorced and is now preparing for yet another wedding; of course, there are others besides her fiancé who are trying to win her over. Everything is going smoothly until her ex-husband turns up and throws a spanner in the works. An entertaining comedy starring the Oscar-winning Katherine Hepburn.
The Farewell -/2019/ - Chinese-American drama
The film is about a Chinese family who receive some bad news: it turns out that their grandmother is ill and only has a short time left to live. So they decide to quickly organise a fake wedding to bring the whole family together. The event is organised in their homeland, China. A bittersweet film about family ties and cultural constraints!
Muriel’s Wedding-Muriel’s Wedding (1994) – an Australian-French comedy
Muriel is a huge disappointment – or at least that’s how she feels; she’s shy, not particularly pretty, and luck isn’t on her side either. She daydreams about her own wedding. If she were to get married, she’d be free from the family nest and her siblings wouldn’t bother her either. Muriel wants this so much that it’s becoming an obsession. Nothing ever goes right for Muriel; in her utter despair, she withdraws a small amount of money from her father’s bank account and travels to Hawaii to start a new life. A delightful, refreshing comedy!
The wedding banquet /1993/ – Chinese comedy
Wai Tung lives in New York and is gay; he gets on very well with his partner, Simon. His parents don’t know about this, and they’re constantly nagging him about getting married. That’s when Wei-Wei comes into the picture; she needs a green card, so she agrees to marry Wai Tung. His parents come to visit, and that’s when things go completely haywire, putting all of Wai Tung’s relationships at risk.
The film was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe in 1994, in the Best Foreign Language Film category!
The Graduate-Before Graduation /1967/ – an American comedy
Ben has just finished university. At his parents’ insistence, he is now focusing on finding a good job and a wife. At a friend of his parents’ house, he meets Mrs Robinson, who immediately seduces him. Ben soon realises that he is in love with Elaine, Mrs Robinson’s daughter, who is moving to San Francisco to study. Ben finally plucks up the courage to ask her to marry him, but it turns out she is already engaged!
As well as being entertaining, the film is noteworthy in several respects. *The Graduate* introduced the world to Dustin Hoffman and Simon and Garfunkel’s famous song ‘Mrs Robinson’, and its director was also awarded an Oscar!
Steel Magnolias-Steel Magnolias (1989) – American drama
It’s safe to say that Julia Roberts is the queen of wedding films. Yet this film stands out even amongst all her wedding-themed films. Her wedding in the film and her beautiful dress are truly unforgettable! It’s the sort of film where we can cry and laugh together with our bridesmaids!
Shelby, her mother, Truvy, Claire and Qusier meet up every week at a hair salon. Annelle joins the group too! All six women have very different personalities, yet their friendship is incredibly close.
European wedding films:
A Mad Wedding -Le sens de la fête /2017/ - French comedy
A film by the master of the ‘survivors’ – expect some proper French humour!
Max, an experienced event organiser who has already organised countless events, has now been given a new assignment. He has to organise a wedding in a 17th-century castle; it sounds good so far, but no one is prepared for what is about to happen at the wedding.
Max and his team organise everything in advance, as this is an extremely important job and the clients are wealthy. The wedding gets off to a good start, but after a few minor mishaps, the whole affair begins to fall apart completely. Will Max and his team manage to sort things out?
Melancholy-Melancholia (2011) – a Danish-Swedish-French-German-Italian drama film
Justine and Michael are celebrating their wedding as part of a grand event. The venue is the home of Justine’s sister, Claire, and her husband. Despite Claire’s best efforts, the wedding party ends in disaster, as long-suppressed family conflicts come to the surface! Meanwhile, the asteroid Melancholia is heading towards the Earth’s core. Lars von Trier’s films are always unsettling, and this one is no exception. The film is by no means cheerful, yet it is a superb piece of work.
Huge French weddings—What Have We Done to God? /2014/ – French comedy
Claude and Marie raised their four daughters as Catholics. The three eldest have already got married. All three daughters married men of different religions and ethnic backgrounds, which has completely devastated their parents. Although the parents do their utmost to make it seem as though they like their sons-in-law, at family gatherings something always seems to slip out, leading to awkward situations. Their youngest daughter is their last hope for a marriage they deem suitable, and they try to set her up with an acquaintance. However, they have no idea that she already has a boyfriend and wants to marry him! It turns out that the man is Catholic; the parents are over the moon and, in their joy, don’t even take issue with the fact that he is an actor. The time comes for them to meet him in person. It turns out that their youngest daughter’s chosen one, Charles, is black and his parents live in Africa. This is where the real chaos begins!
We hope you’re in the mood for a bit of wedding film watching! 🙂
