Father of the Bride

The original Father of the Bride is very different from its famous 90s remake, probably because Spencer Tracy and Steve Martin bring completely different energies to the titular character. Tracy is more reserved than Martin and so is the film, relying less on zany antics and Martin’s ability to humorously portray someone’s fraying sanity and more on Tracy’s beleaguered but believable struggles with a “small” wedding that is slowly spiraling out of control.

At the core of the story is not just a small wedding that is rapidly growing bigger and more expensive with every passing decision, but also the story of a man coming to terms with the fact that his daughter has grown up and is moving on with her life. Many of the moments of the film do double duty in that regard, reflecting the tensions of the father’s separation anxiety in anxieties about the wedding and vice versa. Mr. Banks has suspicions about his daughter’s beau but they are as much about her leaving with anyone as they are genuine concerns about this particular suitor’s worthiness. As an example, in the scene where he thinks over all of the guys she had previously shown interest in, he describes them only by the often small and petty flaw he saw in them that made him see them as unworthy for her.

The movie also doesn’t try to stretch much beyond that fairly intimate and simple conceit. The movie is reminiscent of a humorous essay one might find in the likes of Harper’s Bazaar, written by a father about his experience planning a wedding. The voice over also helps with that effect. The monologues are written in such a way that they feel like they are taking the words from such an essay and giving them life through performance, even though they were written exclusively for the movie.

The voice over also helps tie the movie together. What might have felt like a series of amusing but only weakly connected skits or vignettes on the frequently fraught process of planning a wedding instead feels like a cohesive and narratively sound whole because the voice over gives us that father’s perspective as a throughline. We not only hear the inner thoughts of Mr. Banks whenever there is need to provide appropriate context but also get some nice linking exposition to move from scene to scene when the story needs it.

Like a humor essay, the film doesn’t necessarily have all that much profound to say but it does have plenty of light, frothy observational humor and relatable moments for anyone who has been in a wedding or part of a wedding party. It has been a while since I’ve seen Martin’s Father of the Bride, but from what I remember I think I like this simpler, subtler version of the story better. The concentration on more believable aspects of the frustrations of wedding planning, the humanizing of the father’s concerns, and the acknowledgement of a weddings dual emotional impact all help you feel like a co-passenger on the father’s emotional journey of first resisting and then accepting that his daughter is growing up, getting married, and leaving the house.

Would Recommend: If you ever wondered what a David Sedaris piece would look like come to life.

Would Not Recommend: If you work in the wedding industry and are prone to PTSD.