America Ferrera and Lance Gross in Our Family Wedding - Fox Searchlight Pictures.

In "Our Family Wedding," the future in-laws work on the seating chart for the titular event and imagine the interaction between their families.  They imagine a Hispanic woman turning to the African-American family and saying: “you’re with the groom’s family. I know because you’re black.”

That’s it.  That’s pretty much all they’ve got for "Our Family Wedding." That simple quote is about as complex as they decide to get with their premise. Hispanic bride-to-be Lucia (America Ferrera) and African-American groom-to-be Marcus (Lance Gross) have kept their relationship a secret for never-really-explained reasons, and now, they decide to tell their families they’re getting married. Two cultures come together – but not with a bit of wit or originality. Seriously, the best they could come up with was a grandma fainting at the site of her future black grandson-in-law.

Perhaps there’s no pleasing me, because if the bulk of the movie had played to stereotypes I would have blasted it for pandering. But people: give me something to make it interesting. If we see nothing of a Hispanic or African-American culture in any of these people’s lives, then the families become interchangeable. If we don’t see them embrace their own cultures, why should we believe the two fathers (Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia) are so proud of their own?

The filmmakers would probably point to the overly long wedding itself – which is an explosion of poorly done slapstick, offensive stereotypes and loud reminders of everyone’s ethnicity.  Sassy black women fight with elderly Spanish-speaking Catholics.  The music at the reception is a combination of soul music and an actual mariachi band. There’s even a goat running around, which must mean something.  It’s as if they forgot the racial comedy had no racial themes, so they crammed them all into the end.

But mostly, blandness prevails, beginning with the happy couple themselves. Because we spend so much time with the extended families, we see little of their relationship or any chemistry. Ferrera – so lively as Ugly Betty and even in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies – does nothing interesting whatsoever. Gross (TV’s House of Payne) is a handsome young man no doubt waiting for his breakout role in the movies.  This isn’t it.

Director Rick Famuyiwa instead relies on Whitaker and Mencia to carry the film.  And here’s perhaps the biggest problem - Mencia may be an ok stand-up comic, but he is a terrible actor.  His expression is exactly the same, whether he’s supposed to be reacting angrily to his daughter’s engagement, lamenting his little girl growing up, or trading barbs with Whitaker.  He’s supposed to be a fiery Latino but is just wooden.

Forest Whitaker on the other hand is a tremendous actor. He’s an Oscar winner who can chew the scenery when he wants to.  But in this movie, he’s as wooden as Mencia. Perhaps working opposite him meant he had to sink to a level he’s not used to acting at.

Each father is involved in his own romantic subplot: Mencia and his wife have lost their romantic spark; Whitaker is an aging lothario who needs to settle down.  Through a couple of conversations with family and friends, the movie hints that it wants to be like last month’s bloated ensemble "Valentine’s Day" and juggle a number of romantic plots.  (Curiously, Taye Diggs plays one of Marcus’ best friends in a “discussion” scene, then vanishes for the rest of the movie.  He doesn’t even make it to the wedding).

Last month on this web site, I lamented the lack of minorities in "Valentine’s Day." If combined, the two movies would be an epic-length multi-cultural bland mess.  Can’t someone make a film about love and relationships that’s good for everybody?

Genre/s: Comedy    
Release Date/s: 12 March, 2010  (Showtimes & Tickets )
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Production Company: Sneak Preview Entertainment, Fox Searchlight Pictures
Official Site: Official Site
Alternate Titles: The Wedding Pact

MORE ON THIS RELEASE:
Running Time: 90
M.P.A.A. Rating: PG-13
Filming Locations: Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Format: