MOTHER OF THE BRIDE -- It’s Like an Ex You Don’t Mind Bumping Into

Review by Jonathan Berk

Mothers need love, too — especially if they've been so focused on taking care of their only daughter for the majority of the last twenty years. Though it's never easy to let your child grow up, it is eventually a necessity that you stop taking care of them so you may finally focus on yourself. That's essentially the point of Mother of the Bride. 
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Lana (Brooke Shields) finally sees her daughter, Emma (Miranda Cosgrove), after she's been in London for an entire year. Emma drops the big news that she's engaged and getting married in a month in Thailand, which will be a part of her new business. While it's not easy to step back, Lana is surprised to find that her future son-in-law's father is the lost love of her life from college. 

Shields is definitely game for the comedy in the film. Several moments feel a bit cheesy, but she makes it work despite the material. Cosgrove and Shields have enough talent to mostly sell the mother-daughter relationship, but the dialogue does them no favors. Nearly every moment that contains conflict feels overly fabricated and far too melodramatic. The history between these two is filled in with clunky exposition that will make audiences roll their eyes or laugh with a hint of derision. If the actors didn't have the talent, the film would be quite unwatchable. 

Benjamin Bratt plays the father of the groom (Sean Teale), and it is always a treat to have him in a project. Bratt looks fantastic, and the history between his character and Shields's is by far the most compelling storyline in the film. His introduction leads to one of the aforementioned eye-rolling scenes, where they fall into the pool in one of the more cliche rom-com-type moments.

While director Mark Waters has delivered some pretty beloved films, including Mean Girls and Freaky Friday, there is an undeniable Hallmark movie sheen in this one. The overall aesthetic is too bright, and everything feels a bit too polished. There is almost something uncinematic about the look of everything that makes it seem as if it belongs amongst the ever-growing library of those beloved TV network movies. 

The film absolutely pulls from recent releases in what almost feels like a mash-up of Crazy Rich Asians and Ticket to Paradise. The "exotic" setting with the excessive wealth and the focus on the parents of the happy couple rather than the couple themselves seems to pull from those recent rom-com successes.  In the opening scene, RJ proposes to Emma at a fancy restaurant that he's emptied out, minus the staff and far too many flowers. It's gorgeous and excessive, which is a solid metaphor for this movie. It feels like it wants to be the wedding sequence from Crazy Rich Asians but is not quite capable of selling it the same. 

Still, Mother of the Bride isn't doing anything wrong. While the dialogue could have used a little bit of touch-up, it's a perfectly enjoyable entry to the genre. Other than feeling a bit like a made-for-TV movie, the performances help elevate the overall product. Even though every moment of drama feels far too contrived, the comedic elements help to counter the melodrama. ​

Mother of the Bride will be streaming on Netflix on May 9. 

Rating: 3/5