The People We Hate at the Wedding
(F or Zero stars)
Well, THAT was an excruciating watch. 'The People We Hate at the Wedding' (directed by Claire Scanlon) lives up to its title in that, I loathed most of the people onscreen & did not enjoy being trapped with them for 100 minutes. This 'comedy' commits the sin of trying to make its loathsome characters relatable & forgivable. Scanlon wastes a relatively talented cast on a beleaguered premise & a lazzzyyy script that fails to enlighten us on these egotistical people. And this film contains the annoying type of plot that hinges itself on silly misunderstandings that could easily be fixed/cleared up with a basic grown-up conversation -- but no, not here.
This movie hopes that by casting amiable types like Allison Janney, Ben Platt & Kristen Bell and tossing scathing dialogues at them to spout that we will just LOVE hearing them debase themselves to make other people feel like crap. Bell, in particular, is one NASTY customer and, I felt absolutely nothing for her character in the end, no matter what kind of redemption arc she is given. So the plot puts these loathsome people at said wedding because Donna (Janney), many yrs. ago in England, had a daughter named Eloise with then cheating husband Henrique (Isaach de Bankole), but opted to start life anew with another man in America & had 2 more children, Alice & Paul; raising them in the U.S. while Eloise would occasionally visit from merry 'ole England to keep a connection with her mom & half-siblings.
Howwwever, what SHOULD be a harmonious blended family situation is farrr from it, as Alice (Kristen Bell) & Paul (Ben Platt) grew up into MISERABLE people who seem content to lead the most miserable lives that they can. Alice, currently sleeping with her married boss (Jorma Taccone), & Paul, struggling in his relationship with Dominic (Karan Soni), haven't warmed to Eloise (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), mostly due to her wealth & advanced social standing. But now we come to a major problem with the script, again …
If Eloise were some dislikeable person who flaunted her riches & treated her half-siblings like excrement, that would be one thing -- but that's not the case, here. Eloise is a fairly level-headed & sweet person. And so, the plot hinging on Eloise being framed as a bad person simply doesn't work. It is not SENSICAL to follow these hateful half-siblings throughout the duration of the film as they make one horrible comment and/or decision after another. Through a series of misadventures, Eloise's "hen do" ends up being a disaster, Paul & Dominic attempt an awkward threesome that goes south quickly, & Alice completely disregards the super sweet Dennis (Dustin Milligan, of Schitt's Creek), while also contending with the violent ire of her boss's wife.
All of these plot shenanigans are meant to pull the wool over our eyes that the script is simply terrible. Nothing is fresh. Nothing is remotely witty. And everything is just sour. Sure, there's the odd moment here or there that is either cute or mildly humorous. But those rare snippets do nothing to alleviate the misery I was in watching the movie. These actors are all enjoyable with the right material, but they can't save the despicable characters that they're imparting. There is no delighting in the wickedness on tap, here. And so when everything miraculously works out in the end for the obvious happy ending ... it feels as artificial as the day is long.
This movie hopes that by casting amiable types like Allison Janney, Ben Platt & Kristen Bell and tossing scathing dialogues at them to spout that we will just LOVE hearing them debase themselves to make other people feel like crap. Bell, in particular, is one NASTY customer and, I felt absolutely nothing for her character in the end, no matter what kind of redemption arc she is given. So the plot puts these loathsome people at said wedding because Donna (Janney), many yrs. ago in England, had a daughter named Eloise with then cheating husband Henrique (Isaach de Bankole), but opted to start life anew with another man in America & had 2 more children, Alice & Paul; raising them in the U.S. while Eloise would occasionally visit from merry 'ole England to keep a connection with her mom & half-siblings.
Howwwever, what SHOULD be a harmonious blended family situation is farrr from it, as Alice (Kristen Bell) & Paul (Ben Platt) grew up into MISERABLE people who seem content to lead the most miserable lives that they can. Alice, currently sleeping with her married boss (Jorma Taccone), & Paul, struggling in his relationship with Dominic (Karan Soni), haven't warmed to Eloise (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), mostly due to her wealth & advanced social standing. But now we come to a major problem with the script, again …
If Eloise were some dislikeable person who flaunted her riches & treated her half-siblings like excrement, that would be one thing -- but that's not the case, here. Eloise is a fairly level-headed & sweet person. And so, the plot hinging on Eloise being framed as a bad person simply doesn't work. It is not SENSICAL to follow these hateful half-siblings throughout the duration of the film as they make one horrible comment and/or decision after another. Through a series of misadventures, Eloise's "hen do" ends up being a disaster, Paul & Dominic attempt an awkward threesome that goes south quickly, & Alice completely disregards the super sweet Dennis (Dustin Milligan, of Schitt's Creek), while also contending with the violent ire of her boss's wife.
All of these plot shenanigans are meant to pull the wool over our eyes that the script is simply terrible. Nothing is fresh. Nothing is remotely witty. And everything is just sour. Sure, there's the odd moment here or there that is either cute or mildly humorous. But those rare snippets do nothing to alleviate the misery I was in watching the movie. These actors are all enjoyable with the right material, but they can't save the despicable characters that they're imparting. There is no delighting in the wickedness on tap, here. And so when everything miraculously works out in the end for the obvious happy ending ... it feels as artificial as the day is long.