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Father of the Bride (1991) More at IMDbPro »

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16 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Steve Martin's second favorite film he has starred in. I can see why., 27 March 2004
Author: MovieAddict2009 from UK

The sweetness that "Father of the Bride" exudes does not stem from the fact that it is funny, but rather because it is honest. It's a remake of the 1950s Spencer Tracy classic (which is great in its own right), but has more warmth about it than that film did. It doesn't rely on slapstick as much as it does on the realistic and ironic lead performance by Steve Martin. This is Martin's second favorite film that he has starred in (behind "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" and followed by "Little Shop of Horrors"), and I can see why.

Martin stars as George Banks, a wealthy upper-class businessman living in Suburban America with a gentle wife (Diane Keaton) and feisty son (Kieran Culkin). His oldest daughter (Kimberly Williams) has finally grown up and departed the house, and the day she comes home with a fiancée he literally has a panic attack.

She's getting married to possibly the most sensitive man in the world, but George is oblivious to this. All he sees are two big words flashing about the room: LOSING and DAUGHTER. But he is even more upset when he realizes the cost of the wedding: about a couple hundred dollars per head, multiplied by six hundred. You do the math.

Nina (Keaton) and her daughter hire Franck Eggelhoffer to handle the wedding, and Eggelhoffer is one of Martin Short's finest roles. Short, an ex-"SNL" member, and star of "Three Amigos" (which also starred Martin), is simply hilarious as the ecstatic and eccentric Frenchman. Amidst the ceremony's setup procedures, George cannot believe he is the only one who realizes just how crazy the cost of the wedding is.

Let's get this straight: "Father of the Bride" is nothing great. It's been done before, and it will be done again (and it has). Yet because of a likable and warm presence, the movie is more than just the sentimental goo that it nearly becomes at certain points throughout. It's truthful, blunt, and occasionally rather funny, which makes for an entertaining and extremely likable motion picture.

This is not Steve Martin's greatest role. That honor would go to his portrayal of frustrated advertising executive Neal Page in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." But here he provides us with a character almost as realistic, touching and likable. Neal was the character we empathized with in "Planes," and in "Bride" it's essentially the same for Martin. We're seeing the world through his eyes - which explains the reason it is quite often very overwhelming and comical.

The movie indeed benefits from Martin's portrayal of a worried father - not as scared by the fact that his daughter is getting married, as he is by the idea that he will undoubtedly lose her to another man. It's a turning point in both their lives, but it doubles for him. Not only has he essentially lost his daughter, but also he has also just been faced with the reality that he is old enough to nearly be a granddad. This would leave good room for a sequel. Oh, wait...

4/5 stars.

- John Ulmer

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11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
This is what love is all about!, 24 February 2006

Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA

"Father of the Bride" was made back in the days when Steve Martin still had a really funny streak (which unfortunately seems to have ended with the "Cheaper by the Dozen" movies and the "Pink Panther" remake). The plot of course has him as suburban everyman George Banks getting ready for his daughter's wedding, with a series of hilarious mishaps along the way. Some of the scenes just make you die laughing, as you think "Oh my God! They're really doing that!" (you'll know these scenes when you see them). A real treat. Also starring Diane Keaton and Martin Short.

I wish to assert that 1991 was Steve Martin's best movie year ever. Aside from this, he also starred in "L.A. Story" and got a serious role in "Grand Canyon". He is a genius, you can't deny that.

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14 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Hilarious nonsense, but with a deep and meaningfull insight., 30 November 2003
Author: Webratt from Melbourne, Australia

OK, OK, the characters are a little bit "Brady Bunch" - sweet little Annie, the perfect daughter, George, the doting and totally befuddled father, and Nina, the soothing, calming, hold-it-all-together wife and mother. They're a little bit larger than life in this classic comic, but who cares! For any father who loves his daughter, this movie simply can't be watched without feeling a tearing at the heart and a lump in the throat. Father of The Bride can be viewed purely as a bit of light-hearted comedy that mocks the way Dads can sometimes be, but by looking just a little deeper, it contains valuable information that could help many a daughter understand her Dad, and offers many a Dad some consolation that he is not alone, and that someone out there understands the separation pains he is going through as his most precious treasure begins to spread her wings and look elsewhere than the first man she ever loved. This is a tough time for many fathers, and mothers and daughters very often don't understand their erratic, paranoid and irrational behaviour. Father of The Bride explores this phenomenon with what was for me an amazingly accurate depiction of the emotional turmoil that goes on in the head of a man who cherishes his daughter's love and feels threatened and reduntant when another man enters the picture. Goodrich and Hackett have constructed it brilliantly, and Steve Martin expresses it perfectly in this most elegant of love stories. The movie takes some shortcuts - for most of us, the separation pains don't do us the courtesy of waiting till the engagement - they come much earlier than that, when out of the blue some stranger comes into our daughter's life. Martin demonstrates the pain and fear and anxiety that every daughter's Dad feels as some blow-in comes and lays a claim on his beloved child. A must for every Dad with a teen princess, and for the Mums and Daughters I strongly recommend that instead of just laughing and saying "hahahah - that's Dad all over", read between the lines to see just why Dad is the way he is. Loved it every time I've seen it (3 or 4 times now).

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Pretty good Steve Martin comedy, 7 December 2003

Author: Grann-Bach (Grann-Bach@jubii.dk) from Denmark

I re-watched this movie today after seeing it a couple of years ago. I didn't remember half of what happened in the movie, but even the stuff that I remembered amused me again. Steve Martin is his usual self, very funny, great body language...simply great. It's been a while since I've seen such a good, not laugh-out-loud funny, funny comedy. Most of the newer comedies have less realism, less normal subjects and plots, and try too hard to be funny. While this movie definitely has it's share in sentimentality, especially towards the end, pretty much most of the last thirty minutes, but it is still funny, and you don't lose interest in it. A great family comedy, it is pretty much funny for all ages. This is a good movie to sit down with the entire family and watch. Most people will enjoy it, and most people will find at least a few things to laugh at in it, if not Steve Martins nervous father character then maybe Martin Shorts character with the ridiculous accent. There's something for everybody in this one; well, pretty much, anyway. 8/10

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A heart warming film that will make you laugh and cry, 22 March 2004
Author: melissafent from Somis, California

I first viewed this film when I was about ten years old or so. I instantly fell in love with it and added it to my collection a few days later. This heart warming film tells the tale of a dad struggling to cope with his daughter's impending marriage to a man he's just met. Played by Steve Martin, George Banks delivers a praise worthy comedic performance as he falls into the in laws pool and meets with the wedding planner, Frank, played by the ever inspiring Martin Short. Father of the Bride welcomes newcomer Kimberley Williams to the screen. She gives a decent performance as an ordinary girl in love. There is nothing spectacular about her acting or even her character for that matter. Fans will be pleased to know that she stars in an ABC family original movie entitled "Lucky Seven", in which her character is much more complex. This film as a whole is belly busting hilarious yet never loses the touching effect it was designed to create. A favorite among families and heartbroken women alike, Father of the Bride is a film to be treasured.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Daddy's Little Girl, 14 May 2008

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

I remember a few years ago seeing Father of the Bride on TV, but of course it's edited and I never finished it, it's sad, I call myself a Steve Martin fan and never finished this movie. It's such a classic in itself and is just a nice family film that's a good watch. So I decided to rent Father of the Bride the other day, I just love this movie. It's one of the rare films that is genuinely good and just means to entertain you, your family and friends as well. Steve Martin makes such a great over protective dad, as much as he drives his daughter crazy in the film, you still gotta love him that he's so protective over his baby girl. Father of the Bride is a great comedy and is a good watch with it's sweet story and lovable characters. Before Meet the Parents, there was Father of the Bride.

George has an excellent life: good job, nice home, beautiful wife, and two loving kids, one of which is his daughter who has just come home from Rome getting her masters in architecture and announces she's getting married to a man she met there, Bryan. George is going crazy, loosing his baby girl so fast and now having to deal with not being the main guy in her life that she will go too for help. George has to also deal with the crazy wedding planner, Franck Eggelhoffer, trying to break up his daughter and her fiancée, and Bryan's rich parents.

Father of the Bride is a good film and I really recommend it, it's one of those films that you get a few good laughs for and just feel good afterwards. Steve Martin made George such a lovable character, even though he's trying to break up his daughter and her fiancée, you could understand why through his narration and the way he talks, every dad could relate too. Martin Short as Franck Eggelhoffer is a little over done, but still delivers good laughs. Father of the Bride is a just a fun movie that anyone could enjoy, it gives good laughs and might even make you shed a tear.

7/10

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A Great Wedding Movie, 6 August 2006

Author: funky_cherry86 from Canada

I've watched Father Of The Bride numerous times over the years and it's still a good family comedy to watch Steve Martin gives a hilarious and heartwarming performance. I laughed at the way Martin's character acted when his daughter announced her wedding plans and the scene that was touching was when father and daughter were outside and snow began falling it was nice.

Martin Shorts role as Franck Eggelhoffer was both comical and very funny. George Banks (Martin) a wealthy middle class man has it all a great job, nice house, a beautiful wife Nina (Keaton) and son Matt (Culkin). He's in for the surprise of his life when his 22 year old daughter Annie (Williams) comes home and announces that she's getting married to Bryan MacKenzie (Newbern) a computer genius from a wealthy family. From that moment on George is in a constant state of fear and worry because his little girl is all grown up and how this wedding will cost too much.

The rest of the cast gave great performances I recommend this movie to fans of Steve Martin who enjoy his comedy antics 8/10

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Losing the Light of Your Eyes to Adulthood, 2 December 2006

Author: nycritic

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Where the 1950 version was as stiff as a piece of wood, the 1991 version is more of a reconfiguration of the initial story than a remake -- even when there are scenes that virtually reconstruct the 1950 movie. Now, while Vincent Minnelli's movie depicted a world no one except those living at that time -- and even then, that's a stretch -- could identify with, Charles Shyer brings those upper-crust sensibilities into a contemporary setting and creates a truly poignant study of a father (Steve Martin) who is about to lose his little girl even though she's already twenty-two and an Architect in her own right and is played by Kimberley Williams. We can relate to the complex emotions he has to go through even when some of the situations he gets involved in are the stuff of perfunctory comedy. However, his narration which opens and closes the movie and his quieter scenes point at a deeper study of a man who is perplexed at what is happening, and who's heart is breaking neatly in two.

Another update is having Diane Keaton's character a true person in her own right, and who better than Keaton to play a real woman? After all, she's the one who created and immortalized a performance as Annie Hall, the quintessential New Yorker of the Seventies. Diane Keaton is a perfect balance to the maniacal antics of Steve Martin who has plenty of slapstick opportunities. She imbues her character with a sense of intelligence and practicality Joan Bennett could never bring to her own -- then again, Bennett wasn't an actress known for her warmth, let alone capacity to play a real person. In many ways, Keaton plays her role surprisingly similar to the way Katharine Hepburn did in GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER? in the way she openly embraces her daughters entrance into adulthood.

Visually FATHER OF THE BRIDE has a close relation to BETSY'S WEDDING with its warm colors and affluent settings. There are moments in the movie that are so filled with sentimentalism it's a miracle tears wouldn't be shed, and even trivial events -- such as Williams' explosive reaction to a blender she receives from her husband to be, played by the underrated George Newbern -- are rife with realism. This is a comedy that is well aware of the type of story it is telling and is far removed from being an all-out laugh fest. The only moments of extreme comic relief are the ones which introduce and involve Martin Short and B. D. Wong as two bridal consultants from Planet X and while there may be talk that their characters' raging effeminacy only prolongs the stereotypical behavior of homosexual men, I didn't care -- this is comedy first and foremost and neither character was the butt of a joke, but the creator of one.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Funny & sweet, 25 April 2000

Author: Meredith-7 from Melbourne, Australia

I have never seen the original so I can't really compare the two. On its own merits I thought FOTB to be really entertaining. Of course its predictable, but its meant to be. martin Short is hilarious as the wedding organiser, and Steve Martin is at his dead pan best. Kimberly Williams was excellent in her role as the young bride to be, particularly as it was her debut. The story goes along nicely but I must say the wedding seemed like the most expensive and lavish in wedding movie history, particularly seeming George Banks is your normal suburban father- not a multi millionaire. There are some fairly amusing scenes, but really its a nice movie. Its the type of movie you watch with your mother, or sister and think if only love, life and family were really that simple. In other words its escapism, almost like a fantasy...enjoy.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Very entertaining story of a father (Steve Martin) having to let go., 7 February 2004
Author: TxMike from Houston, Tx, USA, Earth

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Some SPOILERS are contained in the following review for my own recollection, you may not want to read unless you have seen the movie.

I like Steve Martin. He and I are about the same age. Two other movies of his that I like a lot are 'Roxanne' and 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.' Here he plays a devoted father, George, who had a close relationship with his tomboy daughter Annie, now 22, and announcing that she met the special guy, she is engaged, and will be married in 5 months. Of course mom (Keaton) is all smiles, but George instantly distrusts the boy, even though he doesn't know him. The whole movie is about George, the father of the bride, and how he learns to cope with losing his little girl, planning and paying for a wedding. It has the funny scene where George goes to the bathroom at the groom's parents' house, picks up the check book, encounters the dog, goes out the window, the check book ends up in the pool, along with George.

The movie would be very, very ordinary if it didn't have the wedding planner 'Franck', played with great comedic timing by Martin Short. I remember when I first saw this movie years ago, and didn't know who Short was, I thought he really was a foreigner who spoke mostly unintelligible English. When they first meet him, mom and Annie both understand Franck, but George can only wince and ask, 'What did he say?' That only served to reinforce that he indeed had lost control of the situation.

The wedding goes off without serious incident, at 'only' $250 a head, but George misses seeing Annie throw the bouquet, and the newlyweds had to leave before George got to dance with the bride. When all had left, George and mom were looking at the mess and realizing their little girl had gone, the phone rings and it was Annie calling from the airport, telling dad she loved him before she went on her honeymoon. A funny and somewhat exaggerated look at dad/daughter relationships, but as a father with three daughters, I know there's a lot of truth in it also. A very nice, clean movie for family viewing. It's median IMDb rating of '7' is just about right.

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