Destination Wedding (2018)

November 13, 2018 6:46 AM

Frank and Lindsay are terrible people who end up at a destination wedding. They meet and, over the course of the weekend and against all odds, find themselves drawn to one another even as they are repulsed by one another.
posted by DirtyOldTown (9 comments total)

This is a two hander if ever there was one. No one other than Reeves or Ryder has a single line spoken on-screen.

It's not a great movie, but depending on your tolerance for Reeves, Ryder, misanthropy, and movies that feel like a filmed stage play, it may work. We found it slight, but ceaselessly smile-inducing.

It's sort of like the abbreviated Hollywood film version of You're the Worst.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:48 AM on November 13, 2018 [2 favorites]

There's an unseen housekeeper who gets a word or two.

A few weekends ago I watched both this and To All the Boys I've Loved Before on streaming. I found To All the Boys to be un-engaging and honestly a real let-down for 2018, considering the squeeing I'd seen all over the internet about it.

I hadn't heard a thing about Destination Wedding but I ended up enjoying the hell out of it. As an old Gen X misanthrope, watching two of the best-looking and Gen Xiest of stars play horrible old Gen X misanthropes being hateful about a wedding (which is a position I relate to all too well) made me feel really warm and loved and seen.

It's not perfect by any means but it made me laugh.
posted by Squeak Attack at 11:47 AM on November 13, 2018 [5 favorites]

Good lord, this is right in my wheelhouse. I'm a gonna go see it.
posted by Mogur at 12:11 PM on November 13, 2018

I liked ... things about this but didn't like it overall. Ryder and Reeves are good in it, with what they're given to do, and their chemistry is comfortable and I love that. But the movie asks too much of them -- and if a movie is going to be this dialogue heavy, the dialogue should be better. It's not nearly as clever as it wants to be.

But I like that they're both pretty unlikable, but in a way I can relate to. But the never-ending snark just gets to be a bit much.

And while I love that Ryder and Reeves are about the same age (in other words, he's not being paired with an actress 20-years younger than he is) and they both look remarkably good for their ages -- like ridiculously so -- my biggest problem was that some of the dialogue and plot points felt like it was intended for characters about 10-15 years younger than they were. (I said after watching it, I thought Adam Driver and Keira Knightley would've been better picks.)

I don't regret watching it. Nor do I even regret paying money to do so (but just a rental at home so ...) but I do regret I didn't just wait a couple of weeks until it was "free" on streaming.
posted by darksong at 7:44 PM on November 13, 2018 [2 favorites]

Dangit, y'all, I was avoiding this because I usually avoid most rom-coms, but you have convinced me I should see it.

(Winona Ryder was always who I would cast as "who would play you in a movie about your life" so I've kinda had a soft spot for her all this time.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:49 AM on November 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

I think the best way to explain this movie is as a 4/10 in terms of quality that gets a bonus point if you're a Gen-X-er, another bonus point and a half if you're a misanthrope, and another bonus point if you're fond of romcoms but also hate them and find them exasperating.

So if it ticks all of your boxes, you may rate this as a 7.5, which is pretty good.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:56 AM on November 14, 2018 [2 favorites]

Wait, he's still got the beard and the mustache in this? Will this film work better if I assume "Frank" is really John Wick going incognito for some reason? Some reason I shouldn't really pry into because it's just best if I don't know?
posted by Naberius at 11:35 AM on November 14, 2018

Ugh. I tried watching this a week or so ago. I turned it off 20 mins in. I love both of them, but this was painful to watch. I think it was the writing. Every line seemed scripted and awkward. And I absolutely like filmed plays. House of Yes remains one of my fav movies, and that is clearly a filmed play. But this. It was like a filmed play that the actors were given the script for earlier that morning, and also they hated every word.
posted by greermahoney at 11:22 PM on November 15, 2018

It’s trying to be a cynical “before sunrise”.

Got better as it went along and you could see the characters forming before your eyes. Had some brief moments of Keanu actually acting… Winona is trying so hard and he doesn’t give her much to go by. Funny sex scene. Cute finale. Two in their heads cynics. It’s not perfect by a long shot has a lot of directorial flaws but had psome Trader Joe’s insights that literally made me LOL… I liked it! A lot!
posted by St. Peepsburg at 12:02 AM on May 22, 2022