Plot
In this remake of the Spencer Tracy classic, George and Nina Banks are the parents of young soon-to-be-wed Annie...
Release Year: 1991
Rating: 6.3/10 (28,751 voted)
Critic's Score: 51/100
Director:
Charles Shyer
Stars: Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Martin Short
Storyline In this remake of the Spencer Tracy classic, George and Nina Banks are the parents of young soon-to-be-wed Annie. George is a nervous father unready to face the fact that his little girl is now a woman. The preparations for the extravagant wedding provide additional comic moments.
Writers: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett
Cast: Steve Martin
-
George Banks
Diane Keaton
-
Nina Banks
Kimberly Williams-Paisley
-
Annie Banks
(as Kimberly Williams)
Kieran Culkin
-
Matty Banks
George Newbern
-
Bryan MacKenzie
Martin Short
-
Franck Eggelhoffer
BD Wong
-
Howard Weinstein
Peter Michael Goetz
-
John MacKenzie
Kate McGregor-Stewart
-
Joanna MacKenzie
Carmen Hayward
-
Grace
April Ortiz
-
Olivia
Mina Vasquez
-
Marta
Gibby Brand
-
David
Richard Portnow
-
Al - the Tux Salesman
Barbara Perry
-
Female Factory Worker
Taglines:
A comedy about letting go.
Release Date: 20 December 1991
Filming Locations: 1015 California Avenue, Santa Monica, California, USA
Gross: $89,325,780
(USA)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Although the cost of the wedding is a hot topic in the film, the final price tag is never revealed. After crunching the numbers given by Franck's assistant Howard Weinstein, 572 guests at $250.00 a head, we learn that the wedding cost George $143,000.00. Considering that the film was released in 1991, the $143,000.00 price tag has not been adjusted for present day inflation.
Goofs:
Continuity:
When the wedding party starts the procession down the aisle at the church, Howard (Franck's assistant) starts out having Nina and Matty proceed on their left feet. By the time the bridesmaids are proceeding down the aisle, Howard's timing is off with the foot they should be on (in other words, if you think "left-right-left-right" in time with the music, they're on the "wrong" foot, even though they're still in step with each other).
Quotes: Howard Weinstein:
[on the phone]
Mr. Banks, this is Howard Weinstein. Franck's Executive Assistant. I... ave... your estimate for you. George Banks:
I can barely hear you! Howard Weinstein:
I'm in my car going through Water Canyon. Call you back? George Banks:
No, no, no. I want the estimate. How much? What's the damage? Howard Weinstein:
Well, everything from the flowers, to the honeymoon limo... George Banks:
Ok, everything. How much? Howard Weinstein:
[cutting out]
- dred and - ifty a -ead. George Banks:
You're breaking up. It sounded like you said 150 a head. Howard Weinstein:
No, no! George Banks:
Good. I was about to kill myself.
[...]
User Review
Steve Martin's second favorite film he has starred in. I can see why.
Rating:
The sweetness that "Father of the Bride" exudes does not stem from the fact
that it is funny, but rather because it is honest. It's a remake of the
1950s Spencer Tracy classic (which is great in its own right), but has more
warmth about it than that film did. It doesn't rely on slapstick as much as
it does on the realistic and ironic lead performance by Steve Martin. This
is Martin's second favorite film that he has starred in (behind "Planes,
Trains and Automobiles" and followed by "Little Shop of Horrors"), and I can
see why.
Martin stars as George Banks, a wealthy upper-class businessman living in
Suburban America with a gentle wife (Diane Keaton) and feisty son (Kieran
Culkin). His oldest daughter (Kimberly Williams) has finally grown up and
departed the house, and the day she comes home with a fiancée he literally
has a panic attack.
She's getting married to possibly the most sensitive man in the world, but
George is oblivious to this. All he sees are two big words flashing about
the room: LOSING and DAUGHTER. But he is even more upset when he realizes
the cost of the wedding: about a couple hundred dollars per head, multiplied
by six hundred. You do the math.
Nina (Keaton) and her daughter hire Franck Eggelhoffer to handle the
wedding, and Eggelhoffer is one of Martin Short's finest roles. Short, an
ex-"SNL" member, and star of "Three Amigos" (which also starred Martin), is
simply hilarious as the ecstatic and eccentric Frenchman. Amidst the
ceremony's setup procedures, George cannot believe he is the only one who
realizes just how crazy the cost of the wedding is.
Let's get this straight: "Father of the Bride" is nothing great. It's been
done before, and it will be done again (and it has). Yet because of a
likable and warm presence, the movie is more than just the sentimental goo
that it nearly becomes at certain points throughout. It's truthful, blunt,
and occasionally rather funny, which makes for an entertaining and extremely
likable motion picture.
This is not Steve Martin's greatest role. That honor would go to his
portrayal of frustrated advertising executive Neal Page in "Planes, Trains
and Automobiles." But here he provides us with a character almost as
realistic, touching and likable. Neal was the character we empathized with
in "Planes," and in "Bride" it's essentially the same for Martin. We're
seeing the world through his eyes - which explains the reason it is quite
often very overwhelming and comical.
The movie indeed benefits from Martin's portrayal of a worried father - not
as scared by the fact that his daughter is getting married, as he is by the
idea that he will undoubtedly lose her to another man. It's a turning point
in both their lives, but it doubles for him. Not only has he essentially
lost his daughter, but also he has also just been faced with the reality
that he is old enough to nearly be a granddad. This would leave good room
for a sequel. Oh, wait...
0