As far as I can work out, it is after this film that the career of Steve Martin has had very few laughs, which is a shame, he just needs to find the right film. Anyway, this is the remake of the 1950 film, and it sees middle aged father George Banks (Martin) with wife Nina (Diane Keaton) having to prepare the wedding for their 21-year-old daughter Annie Banks (Kimberly Williams-Paisley). They had never met her fiancée Bryan MacKenzie (George Newbern), living an upper class with his parents in Bel-Air, but George tries to keep his feelings about wedding preparations and this new man in his daughter's life intact. But it is mainly the thought of never seeing his daughter again that gets to George the most, and it is only after a near cancellation (over a blender) that he understands he has to let go and reunites the happy couple. So the wedding day comes, George walks Annie up the aisle, and the rest of the day he can't even say his final goodbye before they leave for honeymoon, but at least she called him. Also starring Home Alone's Kieran Culkin (Macaulay's brother) as Matty Banks, Martin Short as Franck Eggelhoffer, B.D. Wong as Howard Weinstein, Peter Michael Goetz as John MacKenzie, Kate McGregor-Stewart as Joanna MacKenzie, Carmen Hayward as Grace and April Ortiz as Olivia. Martin does do well, Keaton offers a good support, and Short adds giggles as the foreign wedding organiser, and while there are one or two good gags, it is the mushy bits (which I'm not always up for) that actually do most good. Very good!
Review of Father of the Bride
