Destination Wedding review: Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder reunite once more for a tale of wine, chocolate, potential love in the Californian Vineyards.
Vertigo Releasing
In the 90’s, Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder were two of the biggest names in Hollywood. Ryder starred in Edward Scissorhands, Reality Bites and Alien Resurrection, while Keanu’s standouts included Point Break, Speed and The Matrix. Their recent projects have injected a new lease of life into their careers. Ryder’s return came in the form of Netflix phenomena Stranger Things, whereas Reeves played that little know hitman, John Wick. Having already worked together on several projects including Bram Stoker’s Dracula and A Scanner Darkly, the pair reunite for Destination Wedding.
Set over the course of a weekend, the film follows Lindsay (Ryder) and Frank (Reeves) as they attend the destination wedding of Lindsay’s ex-fiance and Frank’s half-brother Kevin. Neither really wants to be at the event and, despite having never previously met, instantly taking a dislike for one another; the pair bond over their mutual disdain. Before long, the ice begins to thaw between them, but is it just a weekend wedding fling or something more long-lasting?
Destination Wedding is a surprising film. On the surface it could easily be written off as another boring romantic comedy, but it’s anything but typical. This could have easily been a My Best Friends Wedding type affair, with Ryder’s character attending the wedding to win back the lover who jilted her, before falling for his brother. Instead it focuses solely on the relationship between Lindsay and Frank as it transforms from hostile to ‘tolerance’. In fact, barring an off-screen line of dialogue from a cleaner, Destination Wedding is entirely Ryder and Reeves. Each scene sees the pair simply converse about life, relationships, and family. Those reading this and thinking that this sounds a little like Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy are right. Just replace the streets of Vienna, Paris and Greece with Californian Vineyards and you’ll know what to expect.
Oddly, despite having two very recognisable faces in the lead roles, director Victor Levin keeps the camera at a distinct distance from the pair. Although the camera does slowly work its way closer to the pair, mirroring the developing bond between them, most of the scenes play-out within a locked-off wide-shot. There is no cutting between different angles, it’s just static shots, with the viewer placed firmly in front of the characters. In many ways Destination Wedding is reminiscent of attending the theatre performance, and while it will not please everyone, it’s an interesting and positive directorial decision.
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Having worked together across three decades, our leads have an easy rapport. It’s also nice to see them both get so much dialogue. For the first time in a while, Ryder gets to do more than cry and wail about her missing son, and Reeves finally gets to put down the guns and pencils – spoiler: he doesn’t shoot anyone in the head. Ryder’s character does still get to embrace her inner ‘freak’ however, with Lindsay being a lonely photosynthesis loving love-lorn weirdo. Reeves’ body finally gets a rest from all that intense stunt-work, the only exercise he does here is flexing his funny bones, with Frank getting the lion share of the laughs. Both are engaging and it’s really rather pleasant to spend a chilled ninety minutes with the duo just having a chat.
While Destination Wedding may offer a refreshing spin on the traditional rom-com format, it does still suffer in places. The biggest issue is that, although Lindsay and Frank are both fun characters, they are rather one-note. Lindsay never rises too far above neurotic kook; similarly Frank is a constant Scrooge-like grouch. Neither gets an identifiable character arc; it may be a more accurate reflection of real-life, but it gets a tad boring to watch on-screen. There are also a few scenes that don’t feel quite right. The initial encounter between Frank and Lindsay en-route to the wedding at the airport is awkwardly wooden. It simultaneously feels badly improvised and horribly over-rehearsed.
A romantic comedy for the anti-romantics of the world, Destination Wedding allows you to spend an enjoyable, but sadly not too memorable, time with two Hollywood icons.
Destination Wedding review by Kat Hughes, May 2019.
Destination Wedding arrives in cinemas on Friday 10th May 2019.
