The People We Hate at the Wedding is a comedy movie directed by Claire Scanlon, starring Kristen Bell, Allison Janney and Tony Goldwyn.
Weddings tend to be the kind of celebration where everybody tries to be at their best and everything has to go smoothly, but end up being events where nothing turns out as planned (in films, at least). In this movie both in its story, and its cinematic representation, we are witnessing more or less the same tendency.
Premise
Alice (Kristen Bell), her brother Paul (Ben Platt) and her forever optimistic mother (Allison Janney) travel across the pond to England to attend the wedding of their half-sister, on mom’s side, Eloise (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) with the intention of rekindling their sibling bonds in a more or less grown manner and recover the affection they once had for each other.
Movie Review
Counting on a good cast, this movie is a coral piece that is just about watchable, and that gives enough room to the actors to give it a dramatic touch, and some comedic moments. As for the premise, well, the good old differences between the US and the UK give way to some recycled jokes.
‘People We Hate at the Wedding’ does not completely convince. The dialogues are not crisp and witty, nor are the awkward situations remarkable enough to take this movie beyond the comfort zone of an inane dramedy. Thereby, fails to guide the viewer to where the movie wants to go.
Some have likened this movie to watching good actors be drunk for 90 minutes. And in a way we do agree, we noticed that too. There is an attempt at being a bittersweet comedy, but there is neither an intent on being truly funny, nor on delving in more depth to explore the conflicts. It is therefore reduced to being a run-of-the-mill comedy that does not have sufficient hilarious moments to make us laugh, and it also lacks the dramatic impetus to cope in that terrain that should move the audience.
A movie that does not manage to stand out, subjecting itself to the simplest of formulas, replicating a rhythm seen so many times before… but, I forget in what movies….
Our opinion
At times slightly amusing, though these are few and far between, this movie falls into the trap of allowing itself to be driven forward by an easy screenplay, and does not seek an impactful gimmick that would grant it “something” that would make it memorable.
Release Date
November 18, 2022.
Where to Watch The People We Hate at the Wedding
Amazon Prime
Director
Claire Scanlon
Cast
 Allison Janney / Donna |  Ben Platt / Paul |  Isaach De Bankolé |
 Cynthia Addai-Robinson / Eloise |  Kristen Bell / Alice |  Brandon Johnston / Elf Photo Clerk |
 Tony Goldwyn |  Karan Soni |  Dustin Milligan |
See full credits >>
