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By Dwight Brown | SACOBSERVER.COM WIRE SERVICES
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America Ferrera (left) and Lance
Gross star in "Our Family Wedding."
Photo © Fox Searchlight / Scott
Garfield. |
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(NNPA) - “Vato! Bro!
Hombre! Cuz!”
The prospect of a Latino and African American
marriage fraught with cultural bias and family feuds is ripe
for satire. A good sitcom writer could milk this setup beyond
expectations. A director with a gift for outlandish comedy
could whip the proceedings in to a laugh riot. And if pigs
could fly…
Lucia (American Ferrera, “Ugly Betty”),
a lapsed law student and her fiancé Marcus (Lance Gross,
“House of Payne”), a med student determined to
spend a year in Laos working with Doctors Without Borders,
have a surprise for their parents. They’re getting married.
In two weeks. Who knew?
It comes as a shock to Lucia’s very traditional,
Los Angeles, Mexican American family. Her mom Sonia (Diana
Maria Riva) is cool about it, but her dad Miguel (Carlos Mencia)
is beside himself, and her grandmother faints. Marcus’s
dad Brad (Forest Whitaker), a radio personality with commitment
issues, might have been more amenable, but it turns out Miguel
owns a tow service that carted away Brad’s expensive
car. Dad fight! Distrust between the Latino and African American
contingents rises and subsides with each emotional crisis.
Will there ever be a wedding day? Can you eat tacos and fried
chicken at the same dinner? Si!
The story is the confection of co-screenwriter
Wayne Conley who collaborated with Malcolm Spellman and director
Rick Famuyiwa. The latter wrote and directed the endearing
romantic comedy “The Wood.” It’s odd that
it took three people to write a misguided script that woefully
lacks a good feel for laugh-out-loud humor. You know you are
in trouble with a romantic comedy when the poignant moments
(Sonia and Miguel face a middle age love crisis, Marcus questions
why Lucia has been lying to her father about dropping out
of school and that she was living with a Black man) far over
shadow the funny scenes.
The script fails the cast. The director fails
the film. He’s seems uncomfortable with the comedic
elements in the film. Most scenes are boring to look at and
seemed staged and forced. Scenes don’t flow - they meander
into each other. The direction fails to ring the last ounce
of humor out of the script or actors. Furthermore, the movie
doesn’t know when to end.
Forest Whitaker, one of Hollywood’s finest
actors, won an Oscar for his dramatic performance in “The
Last King of Scotland.” The key word is dramatic. He’s
about as funny as a bible reading. Marcus’s dad was
a role Bernie Mac would have played to the hilt if he were
still alive. Carlos Mencia, one of the funniest comedians
on cable TV, isn’t an actor. George Lopez should have
been cast as Miguel. American Ferrera displays a sweetness
that makes her Lucia the perfect lover for the very smart
Marcus, played by a dapper Lance Gross. Regina King portrays
Whitaker’s gal pal and unrequited love Angela; her comic
instincts are still tight. Diana Maria Riva is solid too.
The footage has a dull look that might pass
for a half-rate cable TV show, but lacks the production quality
worthy of a feature film. Barry Cole, music supervisor, misses
the opportunity to come up with a hip Latino soul music soundtrack.
He favors quiet jazz, and that music dulls the film’s
senses. Only the final scenes feature some Latin beats and
R&B, and by then it is way too late.
All is not lost, however. The film has some
romantic moments. There are life lessons that couples will
appreciate and soap operaish melodrama that families will
enjoy. Also, there is something very 21st century about Latino
and African Americans coming together, relating, acknowledging
cultural differences and moving beyond them.
That said, it’s a pity ho-hum writing, dull direction
and tepid music zap the life out of a movie that should have
been muy caliente! (Very hot!)
Visit NNPA Film Critic Dwight Brown at www.DwightBrownInk.com. |
