Serial (Bad) Weddings (2014)

Such a frustrating disappointment

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Claude (Christian Clavier, making as many faces as possible) and Marie (Chantal Lauby, very funny), a very traditional and catholic French couple, see how their three oldest daughters marry in succession a Muslim, a Jew and a Chinese, with only their youngest still unmarried. In the first two minutes of the movie you see how the middle-aged couple's faces become more and more irritated, as the three weddings happen. We soon discover that Claude and Marie have some very traditional prejudices, and have problems with accepting that their daughters have married men from different cultures and religions.And they still don't know that the youngest's boyfriend is a black man."Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu?" (God, what have we done?) is a very traditional comedy, with all the typical strong points and shortcomings of a clash-culture comedy. The old couple are not very happy that they don't have a Catholic French white son-in-law, but the three they already have also don't like each other very much. Many of the jokes of the movie come from people knowing to accept each other and about how we don't really know much apart from our own culture.It is all very middle-high class people too, as no one here is poor (the Verneuil have a huge house, you won't see an ugly face on show, etc etc), but that's just a minor quibble.But in the end, it all is quite innocent (except a couple of a little bit politically incorrect jokes) and the movie just tries to show that everyone may be a little bit racist (or ethnocentric) and that we can try and should understand each other. And it's quite funny.

The background of this movie alone attracted us into the theatre, imagine the possibilities the director had of playing with such a multiethnic and multicultural family. Traditional French bourgeois Catholic Caucasian couple raising four daughters, three of whom married (in that order) a Moroccan Muslim, a Jew and a Chinese, with the fourth about to enter into matrimony with a Negro-African. And the movie did not disappoint. There was non-stop laughter throughout, the stream of irony and humour flowing from one scene to another, highlighting and poking fun at the impressions, the idée fixes, the stereotypes people harbour towards members of a different ethnicity or culture. And you realize that one can unwittingly become a racist without the slightest intention, and offend even when treading most cautiously. What I liked most about this movie is its positive air, the family values it fosters, the notion that we are all members of a nation regardless of ethnicity (re: La Marseillaise scene) and the efforts each and every member of the family puts in to attain harmony (re: Marie and her turkeys). Cliché as this might seem, it is heartwarming and makes this little gem a first choice in light entertainment for the evening in this festive season.

Quite literally actually. This is crossing the border on a few occasions, but it still manages to be funny and entertaining. With a racism theme at center and a father figure who is actually someone you should be disliking, the acting and the dialog is so good, that you cannot take your eyes away from the screen.Of course your sense of humor has to fit the need and what is being served here. But the movie does not take prisoners and does not care what politically correct is. Still it manages to be sweet at the same time. It's amazing and you cannot really grip how they managed to do that, but you can watch them do it and enjoy it

Christian Clavier is a comedy legend. It works as a guarantee that the film which he is starring in won't disappoint you. But I'm also glad that a film with this ensemble cast isn't just merely focusing on him and his comedy talent. Everybody in the film gets their spot to shine. Everybody has to deliver a great performance otherwise the film would collapse on itself. Especially the three sons-in-law have a great chemistry together and are extraordinary funny.The plot allows the writers and filmmakers to play with and discuss many important and serious issues, but to present in a humorous and way. Just imagine, that you as a parent of four daughters, get three sons of law with a different religion, ethnic background and not one of them get well with each other. You hope that the last daughter will bring you and ideal contender who meets you demands of a perfect man for your daughter.The French have always been masters at comedy although in the last couple of years that trend has lost a little bit of steam, but it seems to be going at full speed now. After the excellent international success of The Intouchables, comes another film which has a chance for an international recognition. While the main premise and issues may be a bit touchy for some people, every jab at someone be it from ethnic point or religious point can't insult anyone because that is not the point. The point of the humor is look back on the globalization and the problems our multicultural society brings.Relationships are made, men bond with each other but it is no way done in any pathetic way. From my experience this is exactly how things happen - the three sons in law become friends in sharing the goal of being liked the by the father of the family. They become friends in the childlike fashion. Or Clavier's Claude befriends the last rival standing in the way of her fourth daughter to have a happy marriage, by simply having the same hobby - fishing.With 90 minute runtime this comedy doesn't have any spare time to slow down. This is laugh out ride since the start until the finish. I can remember only a handful of times when I have experienced the entire theater to be laughing out loud like this. This is a perfect comedy with the perfect cast and premise.