Everyone
has been to a head-scratchingly wacky wedding.
Usually, this has something to do with your friends’ soon-to-be in-laws’
massive collection of quirks. If you
cannot think of a good example from personal experience, than chances are we’re
talking about your wedding here. It is a
pretty bullet-proof comedic premise that Victor Quinaz mines with workmanlike diligence
in Breakup at a Wedding (clip here), which launches
today on VOD.
Wedding
videographer Vic James thought he had seen it all, but then he accepted the
Jones-Havemeyer wedding gig. This one is
going to get messy, but he will keep the camera rolling, getting every embarrassingly
private moment out of perverse sense of perfectionism. He prides himself on capturing moments his
competitors overlook, such as the signing of the marriage license.
Unfortunately,
that might not happen this time. Alison Jones
has a wicked case of cold feet, but the whole dog-and-pony show is already paid
for, so she convinces her more-or-less dumped fiancé Phil Havemeyer to go
through the motions with her. However,
Havemeyer is not going down without a fight, especially on his wedding day.
Okay,
so Victor Quinaz and his co-writers, co-lead-brother Philip and co-star-wife
Anna Martemucci, do not exactly create a cinematic milestone with Breakup, but their jokes are funny, more
often than not. Appearing as the mostly unseen
wedding cameraman, Victor Quinaz is an effectively acerbic guide to the mayhem,
who keeps the proceedings snappy.
Hardy
comedy troupe performers Alison Fyhrie and the other Quinaz also nicely balance
earnest likability and full-throated mania as Jones and Havemeyer,
respectively. The rest of the ensemble
careens all over the map with wild abandon, but Mary Grill delivers some
memorably tart-tongued laughs as Maid of Honor on the prowl, Mary Kowalchik.
Frankly,
there is not a lot of gross-out Hangover-style
material in Breakup. Instead, the Quinazes and Martemuccis
(several of whom appear in smaller supporting roles) derive the comedy from the
situation and their characters, which is a much cleverer approach. It is a family affair after all (co-produced
by Zachary “Mr. Spock” Quinto, so take note neo-Trekkers).
