The new Ed Burns movie, The Groomsmen, is the seemingly simple story of friends coming together to celebrate an upcoming wedding. Paulie (Ed Burns), the soon-to-be groom/father, is the central character around whom the others revolve. The groomsmen (Jay Mohr, Donal Logue, John Leguizamo, and Matthew Lillard) gather in their home town before the big day, having decided to fore go the "traditional bachelor party" in order to relive the best time of their lives when the most important things were Beer, Baseball and the Band.
Along the way to recapturing their youth, snippets of dissatisfaction, insecurity and regret are woven into the story. With skillful editing and realistic dialogue, Mr. Burns subtly strips away the macho banter, allowing the audience to get to know and care about these life-long friends. In each scene with an individual groomsman, Paulie (the former tag-along little brother) seems to be giving, rather than receiving, advice and in doing so works through his own pre-nuptial jitters. While counseling his old friends he comes to realize he's almost lost his newest friend. The seemingly simplistic resolutions are actually testaments to lasting friendships in which a nod and a hug are all that are necessary to realize you do have the best of both worlds.
This really is such a good movie: the characters are well-developed, the acting is understated, the cinematography is beautiful and the music is not only good, but pertinent. The audience is made to feel a part of it. Thank you, Mr. Burns et al, for 90 minutes of entertainment and hours of discussion on what makes these guys tick. I'm not just going to recommend this movie to my friends, I'll be going back to see it with them! Four Cheers!!
