First off, I have to commend Economu, as well as his determined cameramen, for shooting a 2 hour movie in one long continuous take. This is no small feat and is basically like making a 2 hour play on film, and for that, I have to give credit where it is deserved. That said, I just wasn't crazy about the film and it felt like it went on for too long, especially since it supposedly takes place in a specific time period (the 70 minutes following the actual wedding), but really goes on much longer.
Paul (Joel Johnstone) and Margene's (Meg Cionni) wedding day is finally here, but things have been going wrong. Specifically, Paul's idiot half-brother Colt (Brian Thomas Smith, who makes me think of what the unholy offspring of Jeremy Sisto and Will Farrell might look and act like), who is also the best man, has put Margene's wedding ring on his pinky, only to have it stick there, unable to be removed. Worse yet, wedding planner and bridesmaid Greta (Kat Palardy) is having a breakdown over the ring issue and, in an attempt to help, fellow bridesmaid Bethanie (Ziah Colon) offers her a Xanax, but Greta takes the rest of the bottle. Now Margene and company are freaking out that the wedding taskmaster is out of commission, but no one seems to think this girl needs to be rushed to the hospital. She just spends the rest of the night embarrassing herself and others and slurring her words in a completely stoned fashion. Moving on.
Jim (Blake Lee), Paul's best friend and the guy who should have been best man, picks up the pieces and, together with maid of honor Alex (Allison Paige), they use Greta's reception manual to keep things on task, most importantly because the bride and groom have to leave for their honeymoon flight to Hawaii in a little over an hour. (Okay, so who books their flight to Hawaii right after their reception? No one in their right mind, that's who.) So off we go.
Jim is brokenhearted over a recent breakup and enjoys the chance to reconnect with his high school crush, Alex, although her off-and-on creeper boyfriend Zeb (Pete Ploszek), who also ruined things for Jim and Alex back in high school, turns up to possibly screw things up again. Meanwhile, groomsman Skyler (Moses Storm) is just hoping to get laid tonight, and he's completely oblivious that his best friend, Bethanie, is head over heels in love with him. He is also completely unaware that everyone totally realizes that he is balding and is wearing a ridiculous toupée.
Then there are Paul and Margene's college friends, Quentin (James Lentzsch) and his very recent and very angry ex Lisa (Molly Burnett), who had to walk down the aisle together, despite wanting to kill one another. They are very vocal in their fights and basically just cause one scene after the other, while still realizing they are attracted to each other.
Paul and Margene are each having cold feet and find themselves being talked down by their respective besties, Jim and Alex, while Margene's wealthy dad, Tobias (Brett Rice), is just watching this cavalcade of fools rampage through his lovely backyard and home.
In addition to all of this chaos, Colt also manages to create an uprising among the catering staff and calamity ensues, to which the cake naturally falls victim.
Before Paul and Margene finally leave for their honeymoon, they'll have a few epiphanies, but to say that their wedding reception goes less than smoothly is a vast understatement.
The long and short of it is that I found some parts of The Wedding Party amusing and some not. Yes, the 2 hour long take is an amazing feat, but I just found a number of the characters ridiculous and unlikable. This movie isn't one I'd recommend to someone just looking for a rom-com, but rather, if you are a film student or someone who is interested in going into film making, this one is worth a watch just for its technological feat.
