1/5 Horrible
  by Phil E. Simpson Jr.
This was one of the worst movies I think I have ever watched. Not only was it so slow and boring,there just wasn't any substance to it. Save your money!!

2/5 Families are always rising and falling in America
  by Publius (Utopia)
It's a sad fact but there are actually families like this in America; self- absorbed, over-indulgent and narcissistic, and the director Jonathan Demme captures this spoiled malaise perfectly in "Rachel Getting Married". All throughout the movie, I wanted to know what these people did for a living, but alas that wasn't really important, and anybody that critiques this film knows that to ask that question is a unpardonable sin in this world of deluded upper class entitlements.

I, for one, did not believe that Mr. Demme was trying to evoke sympathy for this family, but rather just to present a realistic portrayal of the decaying upper crust of American society. Essentially F. Scott Fitzgerald for the 21st century with all the hubris and pathos of the Gatsbys. There are families, like these, in America that somehow continue to exist despite providing no tangible benefit to the community. For a nation that at one time prided itself on rugged individualism and the Protestant work ethic, this is a troubling trend indeed. Of course, almost every character in this movie had somebody else to blame for their neuroses. However, after seeing this family operate for the span of 48 hours, you could see how these characters evolved. This family, at one time, could have been stable, but as this film documents, their best days are well behind them.

I'm all for multiculturalism, but not shallow contrived multiculturalism as presented in this film. The need for every ethnicity and every type of music to be represented undercut the reality of Mr. Demme's vision. Unfortunately, the characters in this movie are where the best and brightest in America currently find themselves: wallowing in self pity and expecting great things to come to them as a result of their self loathing. But, on the the other hand, families are always rising in falling in America, as Hawthorne said, and this is a clear example of a family about to fall from their undeserved position of grace, and to that I say "good riddance."

4/5 Not a popcorn movie
  by Jonathan Walz
I want to start by saying that Rachel Getting Married isn't a movie for the faint of heart. There is conflict and lots of it with very little in the way of resolution. Honestly, I don't quite see how anybody could *enjoy* this movie if they didn't get anything cathartic out of it; but I have a number of friends who couldn't directly relate and still appreciated what they saw. That's the first thing you need to know about Rachel Getting Married: despite its seemingly innocuous title, it is not a movie made to entertain. It's a movie made to express.

A possible side effect of this is that Rachel Getting Married isn't a movie for people looking for a strong narrative. This is an exercise in voyeurism. You get to be a fly on the wall at this wedding and the events surrounding it. You get to sit through the highs and lows the the borderline disgustingly schmaltzy ceremony. You get to be put in the almost painfully awkward scenario of a visitor sitting in a room with a fighting family -- emotionally removed from the conflict but unable to escape it and unable to not form your own sympathies.

I ought to close by saying that, if you come from a family that doesn't confront its difficulties, or if you've never been to an intensely hipster wedding; then you may, like many other reviewers, think that this movie is in no way representative of reality. Well, I've attended multiple weddings almost exactly like this one for friends of my family, and the general motion and flow of the family conflict is absolutely spot on. It may be an extreme case, but it's meant to be.

1/5 So boring I couldn't get through it
  by T. Johnson (Portland, OR)
I'm afraid I can't give an in depth review for this movie because I couldn't stay interested long enough to keep watching it - still, that in itself is a very clear review in a way. I tried to get through the whole thing, I wanted to like the movie, I'm open minded to various kinds of movie experiences, but honestly this movie bored me to death. Apologies to those who liked it.


3/5 A transitional period in a family's life...
  by Edmonson (Canada)
Despite the title of the film, this movie revolves around Kym (Anne Hathaway), who's recently out of rehab on the eve of her sister's (Rosemary DeWitt) wedding. It's a rather serious drama dealing with Kym's difficult transition back into the real world, and specifically, into family life. It marks something of a departure for Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) with its intimate portrayal of a family's pains, joys, and turmoils. As the film develops we learn about some of the reasons for the dynamics in this family, specifically the accidental death of Kym's brother in a car accident in which Kym was the driver. This is where a lot of Kym's guilt lies, but we also learn of another's negligence, that of the mother (Debra Winger), which was partly to blame for the boy's death. There is a lot of underlying hurt and pain that revolves around these people just as they are about to celebrate this union between Rachel and her soon to be husband. Shot with the feel of a home movie, given its jerky, hand held camera technique, this film successfully conveys the life of a family trying to cope with their tarnished history just as a new and brighter chapter is seemingly beginning for them.