Shadows on the Wall | Shotgun Wedding

Shotgun Wedding

dir Jason Moore
scr Mark Hammer
prd Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman, Alexander Young, Jennifer Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina
with Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel, Jennifer Coolidge, Sonia Braga, Cheech Marin, Lenny Kravitz, D'Arcy Carden, Desmin Borges, Callie Hernandez, Steve Coulter, Selena Tan, Pancho Cardena
release US/UK 27.Jan.23
22/US Amazon 1h40

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A wacky action comedy set at a lavish destination wedding, this movie has a lot of potential. It's bright and silly enough to almost overcome the awkward combination of goofy humour and murderous terrorists. But the intensity of the violence throws the undercooked, light-hearted story badly off balance. Even so, there are enough bonkers elements stirred into the film that it just about manages to be entertaining.

At a luxury island resort in the Philippines, Darcy (Lopez) and Tom (Duhamel) have assembled their eccentric families for a dream wedding. But Darcy's parents (Braga and Marin) are feuding, while Tom's (Coolidge and Coulter) make everything feel awkward, and the best man (Borges) sparks with Darcy's sister (Hernandez). Then Darcy's flashy ex (Kravitz) turns up. Just as the ceremony begins, armed pirates invade the resort and take everyone hostage, demanding a huge ransom from Darcy's millionaire father. Darcy and Tom manage to escape, but then need to stop bickering and rescue their guests.

Family and relationship issues fill the script, adding nutty details at every turn. This means that there's plenty of interpersonal stuff going on long before the interlopers arrive. Then when the guns start going off and the bloodshed turns real, the constant banter begins to feel as absurd, because the plotting continually contrives to create conflict within the wedding party. There's an intriguing twist along the way, and the cast is engaging enough to make us smile even if every single actor feels badly underused.

Performances start off relaxed and amusing, as the actors gleefully play up their character quirks before the action makes everything much broader. It always helps to have iconic experts like Coolidge, Braga and Marin on board, plus a snappy turn from Kravitz as a cocky rockstar businessman. Through all of this, Lopez and Duhamel veer from realistic to wildly heightened and back, so it's a little shocking when they get brutally honest with each other for the first time. Especially since it genuinely casts doubt on their relationship.

The script is never smart enough to surprise the audience, sticking to the expected formula, obvious jokes and action beats, while layering in the usual comedic and dramatic cliches. But there are some terrific moments along the way thanks to the sheer charisma of the cast, who almost manage to sell even the most ridiculous scenes. Still, it's hardly a surprise that an energetic karaoke closing-credits finale is the best part of the movie.

themes, language, violence 21.Jan.23

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