Destination Wedding

"Destination Wedding" turned out to be a wonderfully offbeat movie, and I was genuinely entertained throughout the entire movie. I had initially expected it to be just another generic romantic comedy given the fact that it had Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves on the cast list.

Writer and director Victor Levin had really managed to come up with something unique here. While the movie is set around a romantic topic, it is approached from a side angle, as the two characters aren't the ones getting married, but instead are two fringe characters attending the wedding of their half-brother and former husband. And it worked out so nicely that both Frank (played by Keanu Reeves) and Lindsay (played by Winona Ryder) were characters deeply troubled by issues.

This was definitely one of the better performances that I have seen from Winona Ryder in a long, long time, and I will say that she was really well-cast for the role of Lindsay. And while one might argue that Keanu Reeves is reinventing himself with the "John Wick" movies, then he is phenomenal as Frank in "Destination Wedding", because he really nailed the offbeat character so well. And put together, then Ryder and Reeves really have fantastic chemistry on the screen.

I am glad that writer and director Victor Levin opted not to go for a traditional romantic comedy here, and instead giving us "Destination Wedding" as it turned out to be. If you haven't already seen this wonderful movie, then you definitely should take the time to do so if you are given the chance. This was a wonderfully humorous and memorable movie.

It is the absolute opposite of every adjective you'd use to describe a romance movie. This has no magical moments or an amazing scene when the two characters meet or fall in love. I generally think Keanu Reeves doesn't do much acting, his character is usually the same in every movie, but in this it was perfect casting. Winona Ryder as well. Him being him, Winona being Winona, it felt very genuine, none of the conversation seemed forced, it's like you're a fly on the wall following two strangers through a weekend.

It's anticlimactic but somehow keeps you interested all throughout with the dialogue, sarcasm and the lead characters who find each other despicable. And that brings out several funny scenes as well.

I'm surprised the rating isn't higher but then again it isn't a movie for everyone, it's very "anti-romantic" and only two characters speak throughout the entirety of the film which some people don't enjoy or appreciate. But this is a special movie. Reminds me of Before We Go and the Before trilogy, just bile and rancor instead.

I found this movie randomly last night and decided to watch it today and what I found was unexpectedly a gem.. The writing is ridiculously crafty and just off the wall in your face but that's not exactly a bad thing.. it's an hour and twenty six minutes of bickering but it's hilarious and 71.638146% honest and a nice change for Reeves to do instead of constantly shooting people in the face and neck! It's an 8/10 for me and I'll start watching out for this writer/director

This movie is painful on purpose. When you realise who and what you are dealing with, it's fun. A movie that wasn't given much chance to succeed in the theater...Keanu and Wynona are great together.

I managed to see this on Amazon streaming. As it began I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to finish it, and at the 7 minute mark both characters seemed so dysfunctional that I considered abandoning it, but I didn't.

While there are several characters listed, only two of them speak, all the others might as well be background extras. It is a unique approach but it works pretty well.

Keanu Reeves is Frank and Winona Ryder is Lindsay. They meet, sort of, while waiting to board a plane, but it is all friction. Then they end up on an 8-passenger plane to San Luis Obispo, and they are seated next to each other. As they compare notes it turns out they are both headed to the same destination wedding in a Paso Robles vineyard. In fact she is the groom's old girlfriend and he is the groom's brother.

All this makes for a number of funny situations, the enjoyment of the viewing depends on how well one likes the two actors. He is jaded, doesn't believe relationships can ever work out beyond quick encounters. She is the romantic, she believes everyone has a special person somewhere in the world.

The funniest scene is when they encounter a mountain lion as they take a walk after the wedding. Then out of character get amourous with each other.

I suspect many viewers will really hate this experimental movie but I enjoyed it as something quite different.