A mismatch, a façade and a wordy-tale about what lies beneath the mismatch and that façade.
This R-rated dramedy comes out as a surprise - even for the viewers who are expecting a simple story here. It may not feel outright, but this is indeed a shrouded-satirical take on the way our society conducts itself.
Amidst the sea of formal visitors, old flames and new associations we meet our two ultra-realists (read - "staunch pessimists") - Frank (Keanu Reeves, "John Wick") and Lindsay (Winona Ryder, "Stranger Things") who are brought together at a special event - the titular 'destination wedding'. Set in the scenic locales of the wine-county of Paso Robles, California our 40-something protagonists are miserably and visibly unpleasant. They can't tolerate the fact that why someone needs to travel so far to be at a place where everyone is putting on a show of friendliness amidst absolute dysfunction, when in fact everyone's usual lives are filled with hypocrisy.
Now, going by their initial introductions we would think that they are bound to be together (as romance goes), but not quite true. Frank, a marketing head has to dislike Lindsay, a prosecutor, for her over-correctness (esp. The way she pronounces "Paso Ruh-Blays"); while, she can't come to terms with his hawk-phlegm-crassness. Yet, they stick along for the sheer reason of being oddly placed.
Truth be told, they both craved company as simple as that.
Therefore, even for the hopeless, it doesn't hurt to think romantically even when the past was misery, the present is livid and the future doesn't look promising either.
Writer-Director Victor Levin ("Mad Men", "My Sassy Girl") has twisted out these narcissists who can't let go and neither dwell on. He carves a grand-irony of seeking belongingness while talking to indoor plants or mocking game-show contestants, hoarding hotel amenities, using spa-coupons, et al. All this seems harmless and neatly palatable because we as people are part of such luxury-seeking-bourgeois, for one. Two, the film's scoring (William Ross from the Oscars) with its whiff of mariachi style, club-jazz is a plus; and three, Winona and Keanu are an absolute surprise on-screen with their chemistry and comic timing.
What may come out as a distraction here is an over-written, pedantic narrative of dialogues between these two (literally, all the time). So, at best this film is "Before Sunset" meet "No Strings Attached" meet "Modern Love" kind of a tale - which could have been told best as a play and still, may not impress.
Having said that, this is exactly the kind of film for a bad day when nothing is going right and can't get worse because, at an off chance, this may actually bring a little smile to your face.
Maybe, all that ends kind of well isn't all that bad either.
This R-rated dramedy comes out as a surprise - even for the viewers who are expecting a simple story here. It may not feel outright, but this is indeed a shrouded-satirical take on the way our society conducts itself.
Amidst the sea of formal visitors, old flames and new associations we meet our two ultra-realists (read - "staunch pessimists") - Frank (Keanu Reeves, "John Wick") and Lindsay (Winona Ryder, "Stranger Things") who are brought together at a special event - the titular 'destination wedding'. Set in the scenic locales of the wine-county of Paso Robles, California our 40-something protagonists are miserably and visibly unpleasant. They can't tolerate the fact that why someone needs to travel so far to be at a place where everyone is putting on a show of friendliness amidst absolute dysfunction, when in fact everyone's usual lives are filled with hypocrisy.
Now, going by their initial introductions we would think that they are bound to be together (as romance goes), but not quite true. Frank, a marketing head has to dislike Lindsay, a prosecutor, for her over-correctness (esp. The way she pronounces "Paso Ruh-Blays"); while, she can't come to terms with his hawk-phlegm-crassness. Yet, they stick along for the sheer reason of being oddly placed.
Truth be told, they both craved company as simple as that.
Therefore, even for the hopeless, it doesn't hurt to think romantically even when the past was misery, the present is livid and the future doesn't look promising either.
Writer-Director Victor Levin ("Mad Men", "My Sassy Girl") has twisted out these narcissists who can't let go and neither dwell on. He carves a grand-irony of seeking belongingness while talking to indoor plants or mocking game-show contestants, hoarding hotel amenities, using spa-coupons, et al. All this seems harmless and neatly palatable because we as people are part of such luxury-seeking-bourgeois, for one. Two, the film's scoring (William Ross from the Oscars) with its whiff of mariachi style, club-jazz is a plus; and three, Winona and Keanu are an absolute surprise on-screen with their chemistry and comic timing.
What may come out as a distraction here is an over-written, pedantic narrative of dialogues between these two (literally, all the time). So, at best this film is "Before Sunset" meet "No Strings Attached" meet "Modern Love" kind of a tale - which could have been told best as a play and still, may not impress.
Having said that, this is exactly the kind of film for a bad day when nothing is going right and can't get worse because, at an off chance, this may actually bring a little smile to your face.
Maybe, all that ends kind of well isn't all that bad either.