Movie Review ~ And Mrs.

What is it about nuptial-themed comedies that tickle our funny bones so reliably?  Thriving on their what-if moments of matrimony where love conquers almost everything, films like My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Wedding Planner, and 27 Dresses have become classic rewatchables by blending the highs of romance with the lows of personal/familial chaos. 

Premiering at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, And Mrs. walks down a familiar aisle, albeit with a cheeky and slightly morbid twist.  The darkly comic film uses its offbeat premise to color outside the lines of the wedding and rom-com genre, proving that a determined bride who’s found true love won’t be swayed by such a trivial thing as death.

Set in London, And Mrs. follows Gemma (Aisling Bea, Home Sweet Home Alone), whose American fiancé Nathan (Colin Hanks, Jumanji: The Next Level) tragically passes away just before their big day.  Distraught and facing a life without the man she was set on spending the rest of it with, she decides to proceed with the wedding anyway…but it isn’t as easy as a simple one-sided “I Do.” 

This is a legal issue, which is how the kindly but stern Lord Chief Justice Amanda Vaughn (Harriet Walter, The Last Duel) enters the picture and informs Gemma that while a long-held law gives her the right the marry Nathan, sufficient evidence must be provided to meet the stipulations of this ancient decree.  Pair that with pushback from her family, her mountain of unresolved grief toward Nathan’s loss, and her feelings that maybe he was more ready to marry her than she was to hitch her wagon to his, and you have the perfect storm of a kerfuffle this genre loves to get tangled up with.

When Nathan’s free spirit sister Audrey (Billie Lourd, Booksmart) arrives, pregnant and unaware her brother has passed, she pivots easily into Gemma’s corner when family and close friends doubt her decision.  Conversely, letting Gemma and Audrey venture into the Lord Chief’s courtroom for unruly shenanigans feels like the film stretching itself slightly too far into total ridiculousness.

Like the best unions, And Mrs. has its quirks, charm, and its fair share of awkward moments.  Director Daniel Reisinger and writer Melissa Bubnic find their way around the often odd complexities of posthumous marriage with a sensitivity that manages not to take itself too seriously simultaneously.  The absurdity in the bureaucracy being imposed on Gemma’s simple request is a sly commentary on what we consider “normal” and finding out how far we’ll go to honor our commitments.

As the headstrong Gemma, Bea gives her character a grounded reality that aids the dry humor of the piece.  The film already works with a strange premise, so it needs its core character to keep things running smoothly, and Bea has a magnetism that naturally brings everyone around her closer.  The briefly seen Hanks is slowly morphing into his famous dad, both in looks and choice of roles.  The deceased Nathan (who later appears to Gemma as a post-mortem commentator) is a character his father could easily have been assigned 30 years ago had this been made at that time.  She’s not used to her full potential, but Lourd also gets some good moments in, never going into full koo-koo-kooky mode.

As the film extends to its supporting players, it loses some of its central momentum.  Heavyweights like Walter and Elizabeth McGovern (as Nathan’s estranged mother) deliver solid performances, but several extraneous subplots involving Gemma’s other friends (Omari Douglas, Samuel Barnett, and a highly enjoyable Susan Wokoma) come off as meandering tangents that could have easily been trimmed out to help us focus solely on Gemma’s journey.   I’d always argue that a trim will serve these characters better, cutting away the flab that can leave an audience burnded by the plotlines instead of invested in them.

While it may not have secured a US release yet, when this does get imported from the UK, it has all the makings of a pond-hopping crowd-pleaser. Possessing just enough heart to offset its sad side, And Mrs struggles with its supporting characters and overstays its welcome but finds some bliss as a harmlessly enjoyable addition to its genre counterparts.  The script has some bite to it and an interesting take on unconventional commitment, enough to make saying “I do” to a watch an easy decision.