THE WEDDING TRIP takes us into a peculiar plotline that differs from Lisa and Murray’s marriage story. Groomsman Jack (Bart Blachnio) sets off on the road trip driving to the wedding. He has to pick up his bridesmaid Samantha (Sydney Bakich). After meeting her, he remembers her from a bad date in the past and decides to leave her at her house. Lisa and Murray’s wedding is a big deal so you can’t really say no to it.
Set against this backdrop, two people who barely know one another but cannot stand each other as well, plan to travel by road to Tennessee. To put it bluntly, they went through a rough breakup. The production is quite low budget and in fact, is very indie. The first two scenes are kind of all over the place and the acting isn’t great, and there is no real production to speak of. It is apparent that they lack experience speaking in front of a camera. To add, there is absolutely no support for such an awkward line delivery. But if you’re a fan of indie rom-coms, these rough points are worth cringing through. After a while, the two freshman actors relax into the roles they are portraying. The end result? A delightful and amusing romance that is character and dialogue-driven.
Jack is already resolved to despise Samantha, so he is just going to drive and do what he desires. Samantha not only does not remember Jack, but she also doesn’t understand why he appears to dislike her so much. In an attempt to enjoy the trip, she tries to be polite. After a while, she gets comfortable and stops trying to be cordial. Maybe it’s an odd decision not to remind Samantha of the encounter, but it enabled both Jack and Samantha to simply exist, with no lies, from the beginning.
Our protagonists are being introduced to one another in a manner in which they are also being introduced to the audience. This is rather unique because it is effective in getting the plot across while at the same time maintaining the pace of the movie. In addition to that, it sets up Jack and Samantha’s traits that are going to be fundamental to the story, like the fact that Jack has an ex-girlfriend who is quite new and that Samantha is skeptical about whether a wedding will really take place, or ought to take place, over the weekend.
A lot of the humor centers on immature toilet jokes. It works at the start of the film’s long road trip in one car, you understand why Jack cares even if he is treating her like an infant. But when we are at the end of the film and we are still making toilet humor, it feels a bit too much. For more sour things, there is a short trip to see Samantha’s hyper sister and her crazy boyfriend but it’s best to just forget them. They are mildly amusing but become unbearable very fast. Also, the poster is best ignored, with no handcuffs or mugshot imagery. It’s not that kind of movie.
What is nice about this movie is not only the comedy but also the love, which is very organic as a result of the two characters. I feel that by the end of the movie, both Jack and Samantha seem tangible and I have got an insight of both of them. Writer-director Sean King would have done well with a woman co-writer. Samantha in particular has a lot of women just can’t be explained moments who rather would have been evened out with Jack had there been a woman behind the camera.
The Wedding Trip is a small movie production-wise and story-wise, you tend to notice the little things. Very indie in its presentation, but it’s a fun little rom-com with solid writing and good characters that balance out romance and comedy. For fans of that genre it’s joyous.
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