It's a rare family indeed who thinks their child's intended spouse is "good enough" to marry their darling. The two families featured here are no different. The major difference is the two fathers in this trivial bit of filmmaking: Forest Whitaker ("Vantage Point") and Carlos Mencia ("The Mind of Mencia") play the fathers, and a more bigoted, racist, juvenile pair I have never seen. Even though the audience was amused, I found myself embarrassed for the actors who had to portray such behavior.
America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty") and Lance Gross ("Meet the Browns") make an appealing engaged couple but I was surprised that these two intelligent characters could be so blindsided by their respective fathers' knee-jerk reactions to the idea of a marriage between a Hispanic woman and an African-American man.
Everyone is successful, educated and enlightened, so there was no excuse for the stereotypical portrayals. I found them demeaning and exasperating. The women fared much better: Diana-Maria Riva ("17 Again") and Regina King ("Southland") are, respectively, the bride's mother and the groom's family friend. They try desperately to inject a little intelligence and good manners into the mix.
In case you think I'm being a stuffy old dame, just picture the damage wrought by a Billy goat brought to a formal wedding after it gets into the host's Viagra! If you think that sounds hilarious, rush right down to your neighborhood theater.
The venue where we attended the screening is notorious for its poor sound quality, so that definitely played a role in my less-than-stellar experience.
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See what you think:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2196112409
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See what you think:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2196112409
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