No plus ones for Keanu and Winona in this romantic comedy.
Keanu Reeves dipped his toes back into the sci-fi world this past weekend in Replicas, a cloning-themed movie which is rumored to fit squarely into the “so bad, it’s good” category. No one is expecting much from this early January release, and there’s no disguising that the project was nothing more than time filler for fans of the actor who are eagerly awaiting the next John Wick installment.
But audiences must once again at least give Reeves credit for investing himself fully in whatever film sparks his creative interest. Furthermore, no one can accuse the actor of not taking chances beyond the genre which earned him star status, as Reeves has bravely journeyed into territory not always in his wheelhouse, including Shakespeare, tear-jerkers, and even romantic comedies, such as last year’s highly under-the-radar Destination Wedding.
Mad Men producer Victor Levin’s second effort as a writer/director has Reeves starring alongside Winona Ryder as Frank and Lindsay, two jaded singletons who discover they’re both on their way to the same destination wedding in Northern California. Not only are they both attending, but the pair share close ties to the groom; he’s his half-brother and she’s his former fiance. After they find they’re seated next to each other on the flight there, share adjoining rooms at the local inn and are the only ones assigned to the table in the far back, Frank and Lindsay find themselves pounding red wine and trying to see which one of them has the more toxic view on romance.
Destination Wedding truly has a script like no other entry in the romantic comedy world. Virtually every syllable within Levin’s screenplay contains a fatalistic, biting outlook on love while also being genuinely funny. “Why would anyone have their mother as the maid of honor,” Lindsay asks Frank while watching the bride and groom exchange vows. “I know, it’s like having the grim reaper at your CAT scan,” he adds. Like any great script, Destination Wedding’s does a stellar job at showcasing the dour intricacies of both characters, providing both with enough solid evidence for living such bitter existences. When Lindsay almost sarcastically asks Frank if he believes there’s someone for everybody, he replies, “Close. I believe there is nobody for everyone.”
At the same time, the film’s script allows both Lindsay and Frank moments which shows their need for humor as a way of coping with their lives. These are two unhappy people who happen to know they’re funny and cling to humor as a means of life support. When we first meet Lindsay, she’s talking to a sad-looking plant in her apartment, whispering, “Don’t die. Come on, photosynthesis,” in a calm, pleading way. Meanwhile, Frank is so disenchanted with the aspect of interacting with any side of society, he adopts the “no filter” approach to everyone he meets. “Superman couldn’t see through those pajamas” he tells Lindsay as she joins him in his bed for a late night glass of wine wearing heavy flannel PJs. “People have jousted in lighter clothing,” he adds. Levin is generous enough however to give his characters some much-needed self-awareness in an effort to both ground them and generate even more laughs. “Do I strike you as the kind of person who has closure,” Lindsay smugly asks Frank at one point.
While Destination Wedding is a rom-com, it’s perhaps the most “un-rom-com” of its kind. Surface-wise, the film has all the makings of a straightforward genre title. The whole affair is set amongst the gorgeous Northern California landscape against the backdrop of a dreamy wedding setting. But Destination Wedding couldn’t go against the genre more if its life depended on it. The two characters spend the entire film lambasting love, mocking the happy couple they’ve come to see, and offering up one case after another about why the idea of love is simply nothing more than that without any counter-arguments. Yet the more and more Frank and Lindsay tear love apart, the more it becomes apparent how scared they are to admit that they both want it. Adding to this is the defeatist belief on behalf of both characters that it may never come their way. Not only does this help to look at Frank and Lindsay as figures who aren’t 100% curmudgeons, but it also shows how no one is immune to the fears of love which plague so many.
Still, Destination Wedding’s rom-com DNA can’t help but show its ties to the genre it belongs to in both its aim and skill. The biggest of its attributes can be found in the wonderful rhythm within its scenes. Whether they require the leads to deliver another hate-filled manifesto about love or not, the way the film has its central couple move in sync with one another, doing so in ways reminiscent of Tracy and Hepburn. The fact that it does this in spite of their shared attitudes on love, attitudes which play out into the movies final scenes, makes the whole trip worth it. “Why didn’t we meet seven years ago,” Lindsay asks Frank as they depart the wedding. “Just lucky I guess,” he tells her.
Although both Reeves and Ryder have done comedy before, very rarely has either one been given a chance to be funny in this specific kind of way. The former maintains a steady hold on Frank’s cynicism while the latter finds new and interesting layers of Lindsay’s neuroses. Throughout it all, the level of deadpan both actors engage in feels both fresh and alive, while a sparkling chemistry means that the pair is consistently fun to watch, even when one wants to strangle them.
The same glowing reviews which welcomed Levin’s debut effort, 2015’s 5 to 7, were sadly absent here as critics found little to like or praise about the characters or Destination Wedding in general, despite a small handful of kind reviews. Meanwhile the re-teaming of Reeves and Ryder (who famously starred opposite each other in Francis Ford Coppola’s operatic ‘90s reimagining of Dracula) was not enough to pull in a sizable audience, turning Destination Wedding into an arthouse disappointment.
When the aformentioned 5 to 7 was released, it was a bit of a revelation for so many reasons, the biggest of course being the romance between a young writer in his 20s and a French diplomat’s wife. Levin’s debut managed to speak eloquently about how love could be unpredictable, especially when found in circumstances that are less than ideal or conventional. Although there’s plenty in it which could readily turn off hopeless romantics, Levin once again manages to make a similarly undeniable human comment on love with Destination Wedding. There’s a perverse joy at watching two people mock the kind of movie they’re in that never ceases, but there’s also pleasure in seeing the slowly-forming bond develop between Frank and Lindsay out of the fears they both share. Destination Wedding does eventually give in to convention when it reaches its final scene. However, the richness of the moment is more than deserved as the audience bears witness to these two people who have spent an entire film showing each other the worst parts of themselves, and still end up across from each other, having made one another smile in a way perhaps neither thought they weren’t capable of.
