Sister of the Bride

This is a very different approach when it comes to writing, acting and overall plot from the known Hallmark movie recipes.

Two sisters are getting married, on the same day but sequential years (4th of July). The plot revolves around this scenario and the fact that their parents have personal business that may interfere.

The overall taste of this movie is a departure from the more traditional Hallmark scenario. You still have "family, marriage and tradition" at the core of the story line, but the acting is very different.

Ben (Ryan Rottman) proposes and Stephanie (Becca Tobin) accepts. They visit her parents (Michael Gross, Beth Broderick) in Palm Springs. Her sister Tracy (Chelsea Gilson) announces her wedding to Preston on the upcoming 4th of July. Her father is worried that Stephanie has only been dating Ben for six months. Her mother is worried that Tracy is getting married in four weeks. The girls are shocked that their parents are selling the house.

Nothing really happens. At least, it's nothing dangerous. I'm struggling to find the drama. There is nothing particularly funny either. I just kept thinking that this is going to end with a double wedding. I'm surprised that it wasn't suggested by either Ben or Stephanie right from the beginning. Then the other one can have cold feet and the movie can have real stakes. The stakes in this one ends up being something more pedestrian. In real life, it would be a real problem so I'm not completely dismissing it. It's not a cinematic drama. At least, it's not done in a cinematic way. The problems jumble together in a real way and again, it's not cinematic. The pacing is really slow. Oh and the carrot cutting is awkward. I feared for Becca's fingers.

7.0 stars.

Evidently a bunch of people who have critiqued this film had expectations for some reason. Maybe it's the lead actors, there's no doubt they are both very pretty people. The secondary cast are also very well adjusted actors. Michael Gross has a vast history of being in a multitude of random films and TV shows. He has proven his worth on screen. The plot is average however, the movie is enjoyable enough for me to give it a solid seven. I enjoyed the interactions between all the family members. The male lead trying to impress soon to be father-in-law is priceless. The setting is nice and the production value is sufficient. It's the charisma of all the actors that makes this a good film. Don't listen to or heed the previous reviews, go into this with no expectations and you might enjoy yourself.

That is the best thing I can say about this movie. The acting in this movies was pretty bad, the writing was even worse. It was very boring. Took me 5 evening to watch this. I have a lot of tolerance for the short comings of Hallmark movies but this one is the worst one I've seen.

This review is not coming from someone who regularly hates on Hallmark films and hates all of them. Have actually been surprised by many, and a lot of my ratings have indicated average and above. The premise to 'Sister of the Bride' though was not that appealing, but saw it anyway for Hallmark completest sake and also because of liking Becca Tobin and especially Michael Gross in other films and finding them redeeming qualities in those.

Neither sadly are redeeming qualities here, quite the opposite. 'Sister of the Bride' may not be among the worst that Hallmark ever did, but of their very inconsistent to not particularly output that year it is very close to being down there in my view. Despite being very formulaic sounding, the premise did actually have some potential. All that potential sadly is wasted in the film not executing most of its components well at all.

Only the beautiful scenery and some nice photography comes off well in 'Sister of the Bride'.

Everything else is a waste of time. Tobin tries too hard as a character who tries too eagerly to be as flawless as possible and it never looks natural, while Ryan Rottman is very stiff and uncharismatic. The chemistry between them just isn't there either, too much of a disconnect. Don't expect Gross to be a redeeming quality, he has been in a lot of bad films and can be a redeeming quality but he is wasted by a character that is so obnoxious and he tries so hard to make the character work but it comes over as over-compensating. Beth Broderick comes off least badly of the cast and even she lacks subtlety.

All the characters are difficult to connect with, none of them are developed that well and the film either tries to make the characters too perfect or exaggerates their flaws (both extremes are obvious here). The dialogue is very awkward sounding and cheesy throughout, the music is forgettable at best and can be overbearing, the direction is going through the motions like and the story is formulaic and drags on and on.

Pretty poor film and very little works other than the production values. 2/10.