The Wedding Party review by The Grim Ringler

The Wedding Party

I think it’d be a disservice to this film to rely on the familiar and tell you that this is like a SAM PECKINPAH film. Sure, it is, but not because of the gunplay, but because of the story. The story here is a very thorny patch in the human heart and its deep into those brambles that we’re headed. Sure, there’s violence and gunplay but really, the most damage is done inside in WEDDING PARTY.

After a lavish wedding, a well-off family heads to a local inn for the wedding dinner. The father, a pushy man used to getting his way, inquires for the umpteenth time whether or not the inn’s owner will finally sell to the father and, getting another ‘no’, becomes enraged at this insolence. The dinner takes an immediate turn for the worse when some bad shrimp are served to the further anger of the father. He demands the shrimp be replaced but the inn’s owner, who is also its chef, tells the man that they must pay for a further course. Both men refuse to back down from the argument so the father informs the party that they are leaving and the group, all a bit stunned at this, gathers their things and head for the cars. The chef tries to get the father to pay their bill, which he adamantly refuses to do and so the wedding party leaves. The problem is that in leaving, the group forgot that the bride and her new mother-in-law were in the bathroom as the fight began and are now still there. As soon as the inn’s owner realizes this fact he locks the two women into the restroom and has his assistant lock the gates. Suddenly, what had been a disagreement over dinner and a bill has become a hostage situation, which then becomes a siege as the father and his wedding party gather some weapons and make sure that no one can enter or exit the inn. Things begin to spiral out of control as the violence gets more out of hand and the tensions rise. None but the father and the inn-keeper seem to want the conflict but no one has the guts or power to stop the men from taking everyone into the heart of violence. In the end, it becomes kill or be killed as the tension that has been mounting breaks and the resolve of the men and their parties is put to the ultimate test.

A very well done thriller, as I said before, the heart of the film here lies not in the violence without but the violence within. It’s the struggle of the two men, the father and the inn-keeper that is at play. With their rage at one another, you see how others, people otherwise innocent except for their choice in ally, can become embroiled in this sort of bitter dispute. The entire film you can only sit in shock that people so willingly go along with such behavior but then you must look no further than history to see the many examples of this happening. The film looks and sounds very good and there is a very tight atmosphere of dread as you begin to expect the worst of the situation. While this is listed as a satire, I didn’t see that at all, though there is a very black, very bleak humor to the affair. The acting is very well done and no one gets hammy. Though this is a foreign film, there is no problem reading the subtitles or understanding the plot.

A modern take on the great SAM PECKINPAH, this is a very strong thriller that left me very, very satisfied with the ending and doesn’t go for any easy sort of resolution. A very good film that fans of the late master will appreciate. Another strong release from TLA.




8 out of 10 Jackasses
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