If you have ever wrestled with thinking you married the wrong person, or that your life is wrecked because you've lost your job, or you feel like the best years of your life are behind you, or you find it hard to enjoy the present because you are consumed with worry about the future, or you feel that your dreams are dying, then The Wedding Weekend has some messages you need to hear. Bruce Leddy has crafted a masterfully written story and has combined with other obviously talented individuals to provide a cast and musical score that reaches into your heart and soul while wrestling with some of the most fundamental and heart-rending questions we may face in life. While the issues dealt with in the story can be heavy, the script does a superb job of providing intelligent, well-timed humor to balance things out. The genius of the humor is that it fits naturally with the flow of the story, often reflects real life and is not forced just to try to generate a laugh. The story line is well complemented with some outstanding a Capella music that left me humming the score for a couple of days after I saw the movie. The a Capella version of "The More I See You" is hands down the best version of this classic tune I have ever heard. Other reviewers are a bit critical of the cast, but I enjoyed them all, felt like some of them reflected some real people I know (and even me!) and felt like they all successfully allowed their acting to focus on telling the story rather than ending up with the movie merely being a vehicle in which a big-name star might implicitly be saying "hey, watch what I can do!" I don't know what life experiences inspired Bruce Leddy as he crafted the script, but this 49-year-old viewer found the story and the dialog to be witty, genuine and packed with real-life wisdom and messages that, if heeded, can make our lives much more joyful. If you like the style of humor in "When Harry Met Sally" or Steve Martin's version of "Father of the Bride", I think you'll really enjoy The Wedding Weekend. This movie's story line would make a good gift for a couple in marriage crisis or even for newlyweds. Listen to Richard's (Reg Rogers) eloquently worded toast at the wedding and you'll know why I say this.
Review of Shut Up and Sing
