More of a drama, this movie is one of the saddest movie about love, it only show the worst part of it, in every scene the hero is strained and hurted, you can only cry about his fate until a little before the end, they describe it as "A Painfully Romantic Comedy" on the poster, but they really should change it to "A Painfully Dramatic Comedy " because the romance is simply not present, only rejection and questions about relationship, overall the movie is not badly played or written, but they lied about it, and I don't like being lied to..
Plot summary
Thirty-seven year old Paul Weaver, an ex-major leaguer turned insurance salesman, a job he hates, has just received final divorce papers a year after his wife Nancy Weaver left him because of his chronic infidelity. Paul can admit to himself that Nancy is the only woman he's ever loved but sometimes it was easier to turn to other woman as those one-nighters carried less baggage. Despite the probability of seeing Nancy, Paul decides to make the ten hour drive from his home in New York City to his small hometown in Pennsylvania for his sister Karen Weaver's wedding, he planning on staying with his parents in his old bedroom. What Paul is unaware of until he arrives is that Nancy and their their two children, teenage David Weaver and preteen Sarah Weaver, have temporarily moved in with his parents out of circumstance. While David understands the machinations of what happened with his parents, Sarah, who nonetheless misses New York life and always has plans on running away, blames her father for their collective situation. Within this situation, Paul will face others with difficulties in marriage despite love. One is his parents, Boomer and Ruth Weaver, Boomer who can only function and cope when he has alcohol in his system. Two is somewhat inexperienced Karen herself, who is questioning whether she can tolerate the thirty percent of her fiancé Doug Whipkey that bothers her and whether there is someone else out there for her who has less than thirty percent. And three is Susan Volcheck, one of Karen's bridesmaids who may want to fall into Paul's arms if only because she is certain that her husband, house painter Danny Volcheck, is cheating on her when he is in Wheeling, West Virginia on a job.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Not a comedy...
CINEMATIC TRIUMPH FOR SKILL AND TALENT.
This is an excellent film in every manner with the impulse behind its artistic success being the script by Ron Nyswaner, wry, witty and moving, each in its turn, detailed when it needs to be, and only suggestive, when that is appropriate. Varying concepts of what a person's home is and what it should be molds this comedic drama, the final directoral essay by Bud Yorkin, and unjustly overlooked or carelessly reviewed. Jeff Daniels portrays Paul Weaver, freshly divorced but not having altered his causative rakish ways, obligated to sojourn at the home of his parents for the wedding of his sister (Amy Wright),an awkward circumstance as his former wife (Cynthia Sikes) and two children are temporarily living there due to plumbing troubles in their own house. Paul is eager to become closer to his estranged children, but his daughter Sarah (Mary Griffin) has toted an abundance of resentment with her and is puzzled by the obviously ongoing mutual attraction between her parents. During a hectic nuptial weekend, Paul finds an available exchange of ardour with a bridesmaid (Judith Ivey) and this, along with his damaged association with his father (John Mahoney) supplies additional provender for Nyswaner's well-crafted script. Yorkin's fastidious direction allows for able ad libbing from Daniels and Wright, and is nicely supported by resourceful camerawork from Adam Greenberg who employs classic technique when isolating Weaver within a disquieted environment, by superb editing from John Horger, and by faultless sets and costumes from Leslie Rollins and Elizabeth McBride, respectively. In the last analysis, the film fares well because of attention to detail, originating largely from the writing of Nyswaner who strongly evokes small-city working-class Pennsylvania (although primarily shot near Dallas-Fort Worth) with each scene neatly sculpted and generally avoiding the cliched, helped by strong acting through the final scene, remarkable itself for its insouciant sense of actuality.
It hurts to watch this film, but Jeff Daniels is very good
Paul (Jeff Daniels) is a womanizer. It ruined his marriage, as his wife divorced him about one year ago. He is repentant, naturally, but just can't seem to stop chasing the females. Going home to Pennsylvania for a wedding, he encounters his ex-wife, his children, his dotty mother, his alcoholic father, and the bride, his jittery sister. While waiting for the wedding to occur, Paul and his family go through one trial after another. Paul even makes passes at one of the bridesmaids. Will he ever learn? This film is so tuned to reality that it is a downer to watch. Daniels gives an outstanding performance as the likable guy with big flaws. Sikes also does a fine job as the ex-wife with a lot of baggage. The ending strives to approach a more upbeat tone. Fans of Daniels will want to see this work. All other viewers should be cautioned that it is not a romantic comedy. It is a dark comedy at best, with the happy romance vibes registering a zero on the love meter.