Dino Corelli (Desi Arnaz Jr.) is marrying Margaret Brenner (Amy Stryker). Naturally everything goes wrong. There's the married woman (Carol Burnett) who's being chased around by another man; a lesbian wedding planner (Geraldine Chaplin); a gay captain (Craig Richard Nelson); a senile priest; a topless portrait of the bride as a wedding gift; the old head of the family (Lillian Gish) who is bedridden etc etc.
This isn't even close to being one of Altman's best works like "Nashville" and "Short Cuts". There are far too many characters, it meanders all over the place and it's too long. Still it's not his worst ("H.E.A.L.T.H." is MUCH more horrible). This comes across as him trying to please the audience. The story lines are pretty conventional and the PG rating prevents him from throwing in tons of female nudity (which he seems to love showing in all his films). It's not bad but it doesn't look or feel like an Altman film. I was seriously surprised to see he directed it--I thought it was just some by-the-numbers director who doesn't even try anything different. Direction aside the plots are pretty predictable and Altman doesn't do comedy that well. The bits with Burnett only work because of Burnett's considerable comedic talents. The acting varies from terrible (Arnaz Jr.) to OK (Stryker) to very good (Burnett and Chaplin). Not the total fiasco that people have said it is but definitely a lesser Altman. A 7.
One of the better lines: "Sir I don't want to have to neutralize you"
This isn't even close to being one of Altman's best works like "Nashville" and "Short Cuts". There are far too many characters, it meanders all over the place and it's too long. Still it's not his worst ("H.E.A.L.T.H." is MUCH more horrible). This comes across as him trying to please the audience. The story lines are pretty conventional and the PG rating prevents him from throwing in tons of female nudity (which he seems to love showing in all his films). It's not bad but it doesn't look or feel like an Altman film. I was seriously surprised to see he directed it--I thought it was just some by-the-numbers director who doesn't even try anything different. Direction aside the plots are pretty predictable and Altman doesn't do comedy that well. The bits with Burnett only work because of Burnett's considerable comedic talents. The acting varies from terrible (Arnaz Jr.) to OK (Stryker) to very good (Burnett and Chaplin). Not the total fiasco that people have said it is but definitely a lesser Altman. A 7.
One of the better lines: "Sir I don't want to have to neutralize you"