Wedding Daze
{{short description|2006 film by Michael Ian Black}}
{{About|the 2006 film|the 2004 television film|Wedding Daze (2004 film)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2012}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Wedding Daze
| image = Wedding daze.jpg
| caption = Film poster
| director = Michael Ian Black
| producer = Jamie Gordon
Sam Hoffman
Joseph Zolfo
| writer = Michael Ian Black
| starring = Jason Biggs
Isla Fisher
Michael Weston
Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Edward Herrmann
| cinematography = Dan Stoloff
| editing = Greg Hayden
Alan Oxman
| music = Peter Nashel
| studio = Media 8 Entertainment
Handprint Entertainment{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2005/film/features/media-8-woos-tristar-to-wedding-1117932216/|title = Media 8 woos TriStar to 'Wedding'|date = 3 November 2005}}
| distributor = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
| released = {{Film date|2006|09|10}}
| runtime = 90 minutes
| language = English
| gross = $11.5 million{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl845907457/|title=Wedding Daze|work=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=28 June 2020}}
}}
Wedding Daze (also known as The Pleasure of Your Company and The Next Girl I See) is a 2006 American romantic dark comedy film written and directed by Michael Ian Black and starring Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher.
Plot
Against the advice of his best friend Ted, Anderson proposes in a crowded restaurant to his girlfriend Vanessa, while dressed in a cupid costume. The shock of the unexpected proposal leads to her fatal heart attack.
Utterly devastated and distraught, Anderson quits his job and goes into mourning. A year later, he is still obsessed with his 'perfect' (and now deceased) former girlfriend. While Ted and Anderson are having lunch together in a diner, Ted points out he's been in mourning for longer than the duration of the relationship. To help him move on, Ted persuades him to give romance one more try. To placate his friend, Anderson agrees, looks around, and asks an attractive waitress named Katie to marry him. To both men's utter astonishment, she accepts his proposal.
Katie had a flashback to the previous evening, when she, her boyfriend William, her mother Lois, and stepfather Stuart were playing charades. He has her guess, 'Will you marry me?' and she isn't sure, so she visits her imprisoned dad, Smitty, for advice, which is 'Listen to your heart.' So, when she arrives at work, she tells her friends she's going to accept William. Directly afterwards, she walks into the dining area, and the Anderson proposal happens.
Anderson and Katie go for a walk, warming up to each other. She tells him her parents had a shotgun wedding in The House of Wedded Bliss in Atlantic City. Before they realize what's happening, Katie proposes to him and he accepts.
The same day she moves into his apartment, they call it taking things slow. He rigorously cleans his apartment while she rushes to her parents' to pack her bags. Katie's friend Matador drives her to Anderson's apartment and accidentally hits him. Temporarily knocked unconscious, Anderson talks to Vanessa. He promises her to be ever faithful. However, when he wakes up, he goes ahead with plans to meet Katie's parents, and brings Katie to meet his.
At Katie's mom's and stepdad's house, Anderson proves to be terrible at charades. But trying to bond with her dad, he goes to see his Jewish toy workshop, while Katie comes face-to-face with William. He's been there spying, and he desperately wants her back.
At Anderson's parents' house, things are also awkward. While his dad takes him for a walk and a pep talk, his mother tells Katie she blames Anderson for the death of her would-be daughter-in-law, Vanessa.
Meanwhile, Smitty breaks out of jail to walk Katie down the aisle. He arrives at his ex-wife Lois's house, and through their long-lost passion for each other, their love sparks again, much to Stuart's discomfort.
After an argument over Vanessa, whom Anderson hadn't told Katie about, although he'd had opportunities to do so, their relationship is on the rocks. She comes by the apartment, angrily demanding her things, and they finally declare their mutual affection.
Anderson, Katie, Ted, and the rest of the party drive to Atlantic City in a car from the car dealership where Ted works, under the pretense of test-driving the vehicle. William proceeds to assault Anderson at a rest area outside of Atlantic City. Ted's boss reports the car stolen, and a nervous Ted crashes into a police car, resulting in their arrest.
Meanwhile, Katie's parents know where they're headed and follow, stopping to rob the Tuxedo Depot in preparation for the wedding, and are subsequently arrested. They all end up in the same police station, and Anderson's parents also turn up after he calls them. Katie's parents trick the two cops on duty so the group can escape from the station after taking an officer's gun and locking them in a cell.
At this point, Anderson and Katie reestablish that they want to get married, and for the first time, the whole group is in favor. Now, in a police van, which the police officers let them use, they drive to Atlantic City, and Anderson and Katie finally get married. However, as soon as they step outside, they are all arrested. Anderson and Katie spend their honeymoon in jail.
Cast
- Jason Biggs as Anderson, an unemployed loner who unexpectedly proposes to Katie and is still obsessed with his dead girlfriend Vanessa
- Isla Fisher as Katie, a restaurant waitress who agrees to marry Anderson
- Michael Weston as Ted, Anderson's best friend who works at a car dealership
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Matador
- Edward Herrmann as Lyle
- Mark Consuelos as Morty
- Chris Diamantopoulos as William, Katie's ex-boyfriend
- Audra Blaser as Vanessa, Anderson's dead girlfriend
- Margo Martindale as Betsy
- Joanna Gleason as Lois
- Matt Malloy as Stuart
- Joe Pantoliano as Smitty
- Robert Trebor as Rabbi Feldman
- Regan Mizrahi as Diner Boy
Production
The film is set in Staten Island, New York City. A lot of the scenes are set in the neighborhood of West New Brighton. The scene outside Gregorio's Florist where Anderson and Katie hug and kiss as well as all the diner scenes are filmed on Forest Avenue, West New Brighton.
Critical reception
According to film review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, reviews were generally negative, with 33% positive out of 12 reviews.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pleasure_of_your_company|title=Wedding Daze (2006)|publisher=|accessdate=28 June 2020|via=www.rottentomatoes.com}} Brian Orndorf of eFilmCritic.com described it as "a creation of utter inconsequence" and "a chore to sit through".{{cite web|url=https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=14841&reviewer=404|title=Movie Review - Wedding Daze (Pleasure of Your Company, The) - eFilmCritic|work=www.efilmcritic.com|accessdate=28 June 2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0484877}}
Category:2006 direct-to-video films
Category:2006 romantic comedy films
Category:American romantic comedy films
Category:2000s English-language films
Category:Films about weddings in the United States
Category:Films directed by Michael Ian Black
Category:Films set in New Jersey
Category:Films set in New York City
Category:Films shot in New York City
Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer direct-to-video films
Category:American black comedy films