Itâs February, which means RomComs are the flavor of the month. The 90s saw a legion of excellent flicks from this genre. âSleepless in Seattle,â â10 Things I Hate About You,â âWhile You Were Sleeping,â to barely cover a few.
Another classic entry being âPretty Woman,â which brought us Julia Roberts â the star of 1997âs âMy Best Friendâs Wedding.â The title sums up the plot, though I must admit, the film didnât play out how I expected.
Julianne Potter (Julia Roberts) is a New York City food critic, introduced in a funny restaurant sequence. Julianne discovers that Michael (Dermot Mulroney,) her best friend and secret love interest, is now engaged. Julianne sets off for Chicago to win Michael back â whatever the cost.
Unexpected Twist
What I thought going into the viewing was that Julia Roberts would be jealous of a female best friend who was getting married instead of her That the character would obviously fall in love with someone along the way, and bells would subsequently toll.
I liked the gender reversals. Normally, itâs the guy who secretly pines after his female best friend. The switch was refreshing, though, itâs a bit of a stretch to think Julia Roberts would not only be single but wrapped up in a friend from college. But whatever, itâs a movie.
The problem with the script is that Julianne is an unlikeable character. She meets Michaelâs fiancé, Kimmy (Cameron Diaz) who is perfectly sweet and charming. Kimmy wants to fit in with her beauâs BFF, which is understandable. âI have four days to make you my new best friend!â She exclaims upon meeting Julianne, who immediately gets to work sabotaging the relationship. It would work if the humor was more slapstick, but itâs not. The methods Julianne uses are cruel and frankly, unforgiving.
Great Cast
The love triangle is cast fine, with each of the performers doing their best with what they have to work with. It’s no one’s fault that the story is ripe with deficiencies. Growing up in the 90s, I was never a huge Julia Roberts fan, but here I fell in love. Iâll be checking out more of her filmography from the past. The fourth billed star is Rupert Everett, who plays Julianneâs gay best friend. as George Downes, Julianne’s gay friend and offers the bulk of the comical moments.
Itâs 1997, and the scenes are long. The pacing is slow, especially since the laughs sort of die off along the journey. I did, however, appreciate the ending, which I obviously wonât spoil.
February is perfect to curl up with a romcom. âMy Best Friendâs Weddingâ is fine if you havenât seen it. But the 90s have many better offerings.
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