Table 19

The trailer for Table 19 suggests a romantically tinged ensemble comedy about a group of misfits who escape misery and find joy in each other’s company at a wedding reception after being placed at the titular table for invitees that weren’t expected to come. In reality, the movie delivers none of that. It isn’t very funny, it isn’t very joyous, and it doesn’t make the most of its immensely talented ensemble cast.

Fundamentally, the story revolves around Anna Kendrick’s Eloise. She functions as both a protagonist and a source for exposition about the wedding, as her history with the wedding party puts her more in the know than her fellow table mates. As we are introduced to each of the residents of table nineteen, and the foundations for their character arcs, everything begins to take shape as a balanced ensemble piece: each member has their challenge to overcome with potential for the group itself to grow closer by offering advice, support, relief, etc. through each others’ struggles. However, instead of following this tried and true formula, Table 19 sets all of this in motion only to continue making the whole story about Eloise. Maybe this was intended to be Eloise’s story all along, but if it was, then why bother using the first act to build an ensemble feel?

The other problem with an Eloise-centric film is that Eloise’s story is not that interesting on its own. It has such a simple structure and resolution that it basically fixes itself by the midpoint of the movie. Her struggle concerns a miscommunication during a break up and around the start of the second act the guy she broke up with tells her, to her face, the totality of the mistake in a way that should have solved their issues right then and there. I had to check the time when I was watching to see how much of the movie was left; that’s how surprised I was to see what felt like the resolution of the primary conflict at around the forty minute mark of the movie. Had this been one story of five, and its arc played out in pieces among other character’s stories with this resolution coming at the end, its brevity would have been less noticeable, but as the primary story its shallowness is readily apparent.

Weak plot in a comedy can always be ignored if the movie is funny enough. No one sits around wondering the finer points of the collegiate football system in Horse Feathers when they’re too busy laughing at the word play, physical gags, and satire. However, Table 19 isn’t very funny. Honestly, seeing as it is produced by the Duplass brothers, I’m not sure it was ever intended to be. Duplass films tend to be understated dramas that use comedy more like a seasoning than a centerpiece of the dish. Skeleton Twins is a fascinating movie about depression and dysfunctional relationships between adult siblings. It can be funny. It is not a comedy. Given that Table 19 deals with hilarious topics such as betrayal, fraud, infidelity, unwanted pregnancies, and terminal illnesses, it seems unlikely to me that the intention was for this movie to have audiences rolling in the aisles.

Despite its rough subject matter, though, it isn’t depressing. If anything, it is just bland. It isn’t funny enough to be a great pure comedy, heartwarming enough to a great romantic comedy, passionate enough to be a great pure romance, or thoughtful and bittersweet enough to be a great melancholic indie comedy a la Noah Baumbach’s oeuvre. It is fluff, but stale fluff. Like cotton candy the day after the carnival. The story is thin gruel and the structure is achingly trite. The cinematography often feels more like something out of a wedding videographer’s reel than a feature film. Even the folk rock music of the Oh Hellos, while fine in its own right, feels like the most cliche choice they could have made. The cleverest thing the movie does is set up the trope of a love triangle, only to pull the legs out from underneath that formulaic structure at exactly the right moment. I had high hopes for Table 19. Based on the cast alone I thought there was potential. And the central table mates all do a fairly good job, though some performances are stronger than others. Kendrick, in particular, carries the emotional weight of the film well. It is just in service of such poor material that I ended up completely underwhelmed.

Would Recommend: If big, dramatic confessions of love make you so teary-eyed that you won’t see all the movie’s shortcomings.

Would Not Recommend: If depth, in character, story, or theme, is something you value in your entertainment.