Real comedy is the heart of Rachel Getting Married
Sarah Grago
Issue date: 10/28/08 Section: Arts & Society
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Who is Rachel? Why is she getting married? More importantly- why do we care?
The deceiving title suggests that the wedding of Rachel, played by Rosemarie DeWitt, will be the foremost focus of the film; however this is not the case. Rachel's ex-druggie sister Kym comes home, as the "prodigal daughter" after her ten year rehab fiasco and steals the attention in a heartbeat.
The film hop scotches from one sister to the other in the days preceding the wedding. Kym, played convincingly by Anne Hathaway, is wrapped up in her own problems to the point of exhausting everyone around her, audience included. Normally this would just be annoying, but on the eve of Rachel's wedding, it serves only to aggravate the already heightened stakes.
Kym evolves into that one drunken uncle everyone hesitates to invite to Christmas dinner as she reminisces -mic in hand- about inappropriate sisterhood memories at the rehearsal dinner.
Up to this point, the film maintains a slightly-off color humor due to the eclectic characters and quirky depiction of domestic American life. At one point, the husband-to-be, played by Tunde Adebimpe, comments that his father-in-law's dishes could have been loaded more efficiently in the dishwasher. Automatically a timed dishwasher-loading contest is set up between the two so that the father, Bill Irwin, can salvage his dishwasher-loading honor.
However, just when your guard is let down and laughter begins to escape, the key underlying tragedy of the film surfaces. The resurfacing of this repressed pain downpours on any preexisting happy wedding sentiments and especially hits home with Kym, the person held responsible.
Is forgiveness always achievable? What is there to do when it is not? When Kym cannot cope even after a decade, her life reverts to spirally downward. Nevertheless, wedding bells, or in this case, wedding chants wait for no one.
The wedding is just as diverse as its guests. From the bridesmaid saris to the Brazilian go-go dancers, it encapsulates anything and everything. Even grudge-holding Kym sheds a tear as she witnesses her sister professing her self-made vows.
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