The Wedding Year

Mara (Sarah Hyland) is a single gal in L.A. She works in a clothing boutique for Ellie (Anna Camp). Alex is her gay best friend. She goes on a date with Jake (Tyler James Williams) and it goes very well. Her sister Jessica (Jenna Dewan) is getting married despite their parents' disaster marriage. It's the start of an avalanche of wedding invitations for both her and Jake. They have a drinking game to whittle down the list to seven.

I love the cast. I love both of the leads. I want the best for them and they are both extremely likeable TV sitcom actors. The writer writes mostly for TV sitcoms. The director has made a couple of fine rom-coms earlier in his career. The problem is that the comedy doesn't always reach high enough. They need a wacky best friend. As for the central romantic conflict, it's not that well drawn out. Ellie's wedding is one of the funniest part of the movie. Mara's family gathering makes no sense. Her parents would never be in the same room together unless they intend to fight to the death. Jake's religious family comes out of nowhere although the cheese burger is a funny bit. I really want to love this movie but it doesn't have enough.