Father of the Bride / Father of the Bride Part II Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Father of the Bride / Father of the Bride Part II Blu-ray Movie Review

"This was the moment I'd been dreading for the past six months. Well, actually for the past 22 years."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown May 19, 2012

When I first learned that my wife and I were having a boy, I felt what can only be described as a surge of relief. It wasn't that I had a preference one way or the other, or that I had a dream of playing catch with my son on a cool May afternoon, or even that I was at a loss as to how to raise a little girl. It was the knowledge that, one day, that sweet, precious little girl would bring home a boy, and that this boy -- this hormone-addled whelp, standing in my house, pretending to be a man in my living room -- would never, ever be good enough for my daughter. Needless to say, George Banks and I would have gotten along famously. Filmmaker Charles Shyer's Father of the Bride is, against all odds, a remake that actually works and, against even greater odds, a comedy that continues to work to this day, some twenty-one years later. Not because its early '90s trappings or jokes are timeless, mind you, but because Shyer wisely focuses on what is: the bond between a father and his daughter. Unfortunately, Part II isn't nearly as successful, and dates itself at every turn. Whereas Father of the Bride remains a quintessential '90s comedy, its sequel is little more than a gimmick; a hit-or-miss, let's-have-some-babies followup green-lit on the popularity of its predecessor rather than the quality of its script or, really, the need to tell another story.

Meet George Banks (Steve Martin): devoted husband, doting father, and beloved small business owner and athletic shoe designer. Not a midlife crisis in sight... until, that is, his twenty-two-year-old daughter Annie (Kimberly Williams, in her first feature film) returns from a trip abroad with a unique souvenir: a fiancé. George is not pleased. It only gets worse when he meets the man... ahem, the boy that won his daughter's heart, Bryan MacKenzie (George Newbern), an independent communications consultant that hails from a wealthy, upper-crust family in Bel Air. Once again, George is not pleased. Annie's mother Nina (Diane Keaton) takes an immediate liking to Bryan, though, and eagerly begins helping her daughter plan for the big day. Hilarity and good-natured chaos ensue, of course -- thanks to a decision to host the reception at George and Nina's house, and the hiring of flamboyant European wedding planner Franck Eggelhoffer (Martin Short) -- and George has to make some tough calls all while being the best dad he can be, given the trying circumstances.

Loosely based on Vincente Minnelli's 1950 comedy classic of the same name (starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennet and a young Elizabeth Taylor), Father of the Bride delivers because it first delivers a believable family. Martin unravels to at-times extreme ends, sure, but the film's outlandish bits rarely detract from the sincerity of his performance, the bittersweet balance Shyer manages to strike, or the sympathy garnered during George's uproarious trial by middle-age fire. Keaton's ease and womanly wit stands in stark contrast to Martin's comedy of errors, and yet the two are as convincing a couple as any. Their love is both healthy and, as those with long, happy marriages will attest, oh-so-familiar; made malleable through differences and disagreements, strengthened through compromise and sacrifice. Martin's chemistry with Keaton, in turn, is bested only by his chemistry with Williams, and nothing less than a genuine affection for his leading ladies fuels each scene. The three elevate what could have been a mildly amusing remake into something else entirely: a match made in genre heaven.

Father of the Bride Part II picks up several years after the first film leaves off, as Annie and Bryan come home to share some exciting news: George and Nina are about to become grandparents. George is -- yep, you guessed it -- none too pleased. While he's come to accept and even respect Bryan, the reality of being a grandparent doesn't sit well with the middle-aged father of two. Not that George has a lot of time to adjust to the idea of being a grandfather before he and Nina are hit with surprising news of their own: Nina is pregnant. Cue dual-pregnancy hijinks, a full-blown midlife crisis, the reappearance of audience-favorite Franck, mad dashes between delivery rooms (because simultaneous births in these sorts of comedies are a foregone conclusion), and George's various struggles as he prepares for the arrival of two bundles of joy.

Sadly, for all the deliveries George has to field on screen, Shyer's sequel doesn't deliver. Everything seems more contrived: George's meltdown, Annie and Bryan's new-parent fears, the Banks' retirement woes, Franck's return, and, above all, Nina's pregnancy. Despite the ballooning budget of the wedding, Father of the Bride continually found ways to make Annie's big day smaller and smaller, focusing on the characters rather than the enormity of the event itself. For whatever reason, Father of the Bride Part II is more concerned with making the big day bigger and bigger, reveling in the lunacy of George's crises and the enormity of two births instead of the emotional gauntlet the Banks family is forced to run. Had Shyer scrapped Nina's pregnancy, he could have tapped yet another vein of truth, that of a middle-aged man's entry into the next phase of his life. Instead, he muddies the waters and tries to cram as much movie under George's roof as he can. The result isn't exactly a misfire -- there are still laughs to be shared, memorable scenes to be had, and tears to be shed -- but it isn't nearly as funny or touching as Shyer's original.

Father of the Bride / Father of the Bride Part II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It seems Disney has developed a bit of a reputation. Animated classics and new theatrical releases earn top marks on Blu-ray. Live-action catalog titles, though? Not so much. Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride Part II each have their own 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentations... and their own share of issues. The first film suffers from persistent color inaccuracies, unsightly saturation mishaps, crushed blacks and, worst of all, an abundance of flushed faces and sunburnt skintones. (George and Nina often look as if they spent a few too many days sunbathing at some remote resort in the Keys.) Detail is quite good -- with satisfying textures, well-resolved closeups, a veneer of refined grain, and clean edges (with very little ringing) -- and most any softness that appears seems to trace back to John Lindley's original photography. The sequel is a different story altogether. Its colors, black levels and fleshtones are a bit more natural (I stress a bit), but its detail is far more disappointing. Grain is chunky and cumbersome, edges are pudgy, halos are present, textures are muddled, and the entire film suffers from a prevailing mushiness that renders the first film's transfer a filmic revelation by comparison.

Just don't blame the hit-or-miss quality of the transfers on Disney's decision to place both movies on one BD-50 disc. While I'm sure most fans would have preferred to have Shyer's films spread across two discs, the fact that both encodes share a single disc doesn't affect the quality of the presentations. Troublesome artifacting, banding, aliasing and other such anomalies are nowhere to be found, and nearly every problem I mentioned before is a product of dated, DVD-era masters being used to produce the transfers, not the product of faulty technical encodes. The real issue here is that Disney should have gone back to the drawing board, minted new masters from the original film elements, and given the Father of the Bride movies a complete and thorough overhaul. Instead, the studio pulled a George, dusted off an old tux, tossed it on, and decided it fit just fine. This may be as good as it gets for a while, but it could be much better.

Father of the Bride / Father of the Bride Part II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney's dual DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks aren't as problematic, but neither Father of the Bride is a sonic powerhouse. Dialogue is clean, clear and nicely prioritized throughout both films, and effects are bolstered by solid dynamics and able-bodied low-end support. No, the LFE channel isn't given very many chances to throw around its weight or make its presence known, but it also doesn't skirt its responsibilities, lending some welcome heft to George's pratfalls, classic-car engine revs, and general misadventures. The rear speakers aren't silent either, just somewhat subdued. There are a few scenes in which the soundfield opens up and ambient effects inject depth into the proceedings, but the front speakers are given the lion's share of the work. Of course, early '90s sound design is the chief culprit here, meaning Disney's lossless efforts shouldn't be questioned.

Father of the Bride / Father of the Bride Part II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While Disney's Blu-ray disc doesn't include any extras for Father of the Bride Part II, Father of the Bride includes an excellent commentary with a candid and insightful Charles Shyer, a behind-the-scenes "Invitation to Father of the Bride" featurette (SD, 11 minutes), and a bit of fun with a Martin and Short interview session (SD, 5 minutes). The 3-disc set also includes two bonus DVDs -- one for each film -- although why Disney decided to shove both movies on one Blu-ray disc while opting for two separate DVD discs is beyond me.

Father of the Bride / Father of the Bride Part II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Father of the Bride Part II may be a lesser film, but that shouldn't stop anyone from enjoying Charles Shyer's Father of the Bride, one of the best comedies of 1991, if not the entire decade. Martin and Keaton are at their best, then-newcomer Kimberly Williams is a natural, and Martin Short is a dizzying blast. And the bittersweet pathos that evolves as Shyer's comedy stops being a comedy makes the film a must-see '90s classic. Just treat Part II as a special feature and all will be well. That said, it's probably best to adjust your expectations in other areas too. Disney's video presentation is riddled with issues (the vast majority of which trace back to dated masters), the films' DTS-HD Master Audio tracks are solid but less than remarkable, and its extras are in short supply. But while I can't quite recommend the disc itself, I can't help but recommend Shyer's first film. Father of the Bride makes this one worth purchasing, flaws and all.