Rewatching My Best Friend's Wedding
When the world is crazy, sometimes you need to cozy up on your couch and escape with a romcom. My Best Friend's Wedding was released in 1997 during peak-Julia Roberts season. While following a handful of conventional romcom tropes (chase scene!) it actually covers new ground on a lot of fronts, specifically by turning its leading lady into the movie's villain and ending it all with a romantic rejection. I don't remember the first time I watched this movie but I know that I was angry that Julia didn't get her man and that my mom was quick to point out its' sexist undertones. Since then I'm sure I've rewatched the movie in its entirety, and I've certainly seen bits and pieces of it on cable through the years. It popped up on Hulu (guys, Hulu actually has a solid movie selection), so now I'm dragging you all on this journey with me. We are rewatching My Best Friend's Wedding! Here are all my thoughts:
I forgot that this starts with a full-on opening credits montage featuring a bride and her bridesmaids dancing and singing. And these bridesmaids are SOAKING up their time in the spotlight with some crazy facial expressions.
It's also worth pointing out this movie is directed by a man and written by a man, and I think this will likely ring very true to me on rewatch.
Don't restaurant critics usually try to be low-key on their visits? And my guess is they wouldn't tell the chef what they'd write in advance. But hey, you've got to do some scene-setting.
Oh my god, these huge cell phones.
Julia Roberts' character in this movie is a long-lost soul sister of Cameron Diaz's character in The Holiday. They can both bond about how they are powerful business ladies who rarely cry. Someone make this movie!
I've seen tweets about this so it didn't come as a complete shock, but OH MY GOD the marriage pact they made was if they never got married by the age of 28, they'd marry each other! 28??? That is true insanity. Even 30 is too young for a pact but at least it would be a number that makes slightly more sense. 28 is so random.
Age check: During the time of filming, Julia Roberts is 28, Rupert Everett is 36, Dermot Mulroney is 32 and Cameron Diaz is 23.
Ah yes, mutual friends who call each other "beautiful"... Michael is the worst. "I think about that night all the time." Come on.
I love how much Chicago is featured in this movie. It's woven into storylines and character backgrounds and the movie is actually filmed there and takes the opportunity to really shoot on location.
With a family that rich, I don't believe Kimmy's parents would throw together a spontaneous wedding that takes less than a year to plan. Unless Michael is just telling Jules very late in the game.
Dermot Mulroney looks gooooood in this movie. Their eyes meeting at the airport with the music playing is perfection.
How does one shatter their pelvis line dancing?
Honestly, Kimmy asking Jules to be her maid of honor is such a power move.
Rose Abdoo as the seamstress? Get this woman a bigger part! Also the bridesmaid dress is ugly.
"You're not up for anything that's assumed to be a female priority, including marriage or romance." UGH I wish a woman wrote this script.
Honestly the villain of this movie is Michael. How dare he come in and tell Jules how good she looks and then leave and expect her not to try and ruin his wedding?
Again, this elevator scene is a power move from Kimmy. "He's got you on a pedestal, but me in his arms."
Good ole Comiskey Park. Obviously this movie would be 10 times better if Wrigley Field played more of a role though...
I wish we dug more into Kimmy's character and what she really wants, which we might do later in the movie, I can't remember. It just seems reductive to boil down her decision and Jules' decisions into two camps: the business woman who cringes at the thought of love and the young finance who is dropping out of college to get married. Especially when Kimmy said she used to be more like Jules. It's not an either/or situation.
Cameron Diaz absolutely kills this karaoke scene. With a less actress, the Kimmy character would be dreadful. Cameron Diaz makes her both likeable and complicated. And I'd argue the same goes for Julia Roberts and her character.
I wonder if the same extras clapping in the karaoke scene appear again in the I Say a Little Prayer song?
The relationship between the three leads reminds me of the love triangle in Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Crashing series.
Did anyone actually own an answering machine that just played out loud as someone left a message? Our house always had one where you had to call a number to get your messages.
George flew to Chicago to help Jules; he's hands-down the best person in the movie (and by that I mean he is both the best character and has the best character).
Telling someone in a romcom to just tell the truth about how they feel? Too easy!
I feel like couples usually pick out wedding bands together? Is that a new tradition? Michael just making all the decisions around here...
George's physical comedy with the mannequin is A+ work. Julia Roberts is rocking this 90s pantsuit.
How old is George supposed to be? And is he Jules' boss, since he's her editor? Is it weird that they're basically best friends but he also decides whether or not she gets a raise?
Kimmy experiencing a true moment of pleasure in the hopes that her Jules problem is handled by this (fake) engagement. It's the only acceptable circumstance for someone to take the attention away from the bride during her wedding weekend.
Me: Googling if Barry the Codas is a real restaurant in Chicago. Nope! It was filmed at a Joe's Crabshack that is now closed.
I love, love, love this singalong scene to I Say a Little Prayer. It's an amazing spontaneous musical moment but it also shows a real shift in the Jules/Michael relationship. The shoe is on the other foot! But only briefly...
Michael is the worst. Jules tries to break up a relationship but she's single! Michael admits he was jealous at her engagement and then has the nerve to take her on this boat ride and dance with her while singing their song??? All that aside, their chemistry is off the charts. This scene also uses the architecture of Chicago in a beautiful way... by showing the shift in their emotions as they cross under one of the Chicago River's many bridges.
The name of the magazine Michael works for is SPORT MAGAZINE?? One single sport?
I honestly can't remember how the email she wrote ended up being sent? Did the father see it in drafts and just send it?
What in the world is Paul Giamatti doing as a bellhop in this hotel?
UGH the scene where Michael gets the ring off of Jules' finger destroys me every time.
I love this part of the movie because Jules got what she wanted and realizes because she went about it the wrong way it's more complicated, but at the same time she still has to go back and tell him she loves him. The honesty she needed in the first place!
Ah the infamous jello metaphor. The way that Cameron Diaz says "jello" with such disgust is perfection.
I do not understand Kimmy's character. After laying out everything she wants, she's willing to make all the compromises but Michael makes none? Also why are all these balloons in the tennis court? Are they moving somewhere else? Is it just for the festive atmosphere? Did they just do it for the helium joke?
Is this the best romcom chase scene ever because it involves three people and one of them is driving a bread truck? Yes.
Poor George is just trying to live his life by hosting dinner parties and going to book readings but he keeps getting interrupted by hysterical phone calls.
"Who is chasing you???" Iconic.
"I'm the bad guy." Do we think Billie Eilish was inspired by this scene? Do we think Billie Eilish knows what this movie is?
WHO SENT THE EMAIL TO MICHAEL'S BOSS THOUGH?
This bathroom scene might ruin feminism.
Should Michael and Kimmy have an honest conversation together about what they both want before walking down the aisle?
Nope, they're just gonna get married and figure it out later.
The fact that they let Jules be in the wedding, be in all the wedding pictures and give a speech after everything she pulled is ridiculous.
This first dance gesture is super nice, but at the end of the day, doesn't Kimmy just have to live with the fact that her husband as "a song" with someone else and not her? And they have to use that song at their wedding?
This wedding dress is... not great. And I don't feel like it fits with Kimmy's personality! Her earlier outfits were much cuter!
WOW the shot of the car driving away with the sparklers is stunning.
"But by god, there will be dancing!!" A truly EXCELLENT end to an amazing movie.
Final score: George is the best. Michael is the worst. Kimmy and Jules both need more female friends.
