Love wedding repeat
Director: Dean Craig
Cast: Sam Claflin, Olivia Munn
Dean Craig’s Love Wedding Repeat on Netflix, based on the French film Plan De Table, begins with all the flair and promise of an enjoyable love story between Jack (Sam Claflin) and his sister’s boyfriend, Dina (Olivia Munn).
With the hint of an attempt to channel the cult film Four Weddings & A Funeral, the opening scene sees the two protagonists reluctantly parting ways after a casual weekend together. Just when it feels like Jack will show a romantic interest in Dina, fate interrupts and things take a different turn.
Life goes on and Jack and Dina meet a few years later at the wedding of Jack’s sister Hayley (Eleanor Tomlinson). Finally, the stage seems set for their love story with the romantic setting of the wedding in Italy.
In attendance are motley characters, including a mothballed middle-aged man in a Scottish kilt (Tim Key) and a glamorous Italian film director to add some color to the romantic wedding.
Foreshadowing what lies ahead, a narrator’s voice tells you that the outcome of everything depends on the seating arrangement at the lunch table where Jack intends to rekindle the romantic flame between him and Dina. However, the guest list on the said table is explosive to say the least – with Jack’s ex-girlfriend Amanda (Freida Pinto) along with her fiancé Chaz (Allan Mustafa). To add to the confusion, a last minute entry from Marc (Jack Farthing) Hayley’s costumed school flame, obsessed with her, is also assigned to the same table. Marc plans to throw a spanner in the works and Jack is assigned by Hayley to make sure he doesn’t cause any trouble.
So far, Craig’s screenplay fairly faithfully grants the omniscient narrator’s aforementioned command. But going further, despite the comedy ingredients all being there, the procedure feels quite laborious. And the humor is way too subtle for the crazy setup.
A sweet main couple and various quirky minor characters are the key to the success of a romantic comedy. Unfortunately, Love Wedding Repeat does not fit in that category. The main pair have no chemistry despite their good looks and neither of them win you over completely. In any case, it’s the crazy odd minor characters like Joel Fry’s nerve-racking Bryan or Aisling Bea’s mouth-to-mouth Rebbeca that grab your attention. Even Freida Pinto as Amanda impresses more than the lead actress. Unfortunately, with a lackluster script, even the supporting cast’s potential is never fully exploited.
Another weak link is the film’s Groundhog-Day-esque treatment. The newfound outcome when the table layout is changed, as dictated by the oracle’s voice, seems to add to the confusion. The viewer wonders how the characters retrace their steps after an initially unhappy ending. What does the narrator actually say? Was the choice of the protagonists made by chance or by the hand of God? Or was the altered outcome just thrown in to prolong the movie and give it a happy ending?
Much like the romantic fate of its protagonists, Love Wedding Repeat is riddled with too many missed opportunities, keeping audiences from falling in love with the film.
Rating 2.5/5
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