Name: Mother of the Bride
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Released: 2024-05-08T00:00:00+00:00
Cast: Brooke Shields, Miranda Cosgrove, Benjamin Bratt, Sean Teale, Rachael Harris

The opening scene of Mother of the Bride (2024) is a missed opportunity: Brooke Shields, usually a performer who commands attention with effortless charisma, stands frozen in her London kitchen, her face contorting into a smile that never reaches her eyes as her daughter Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) announces she’s getting married—next month. The camera lingers on Shields’ stiff expression, a silent scream trapped behind polite teeth. It’s a moment that should crackle with comedic tension or emotional depth, but instead feels like the first misfire in a string of them.

Directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls), this Netflix rom-com squanders its premise: Lana (Shields), a recently divorced woman, must navigate her daughter’s whirlwind wedding to the son of the man who broke her heart years ago. The setup is ripe for sharp satire or heartfelt drama—think Father of the Bride meets Crazy Rich Asians—but Waters and company serve up a dish as flavorless as the canapés at a budget catering hall.

The script, credited to Robin Bernheim Burger, stumbles through predictable beats with painfully inane dialogue. When Lana’s old flame Will (Benjamin Bratt) shows up, their reunion is devoid of the electric chemistry or raw tension that could justify their shared history. Instead, it’s a series of rote arguments and forced apologies, undercut by Bratt’s wooden delivery. The real crime? Shields, usually a powerhouse, is reduced to mugging for the camera, her performance oscillating between exaggerated exasperation and robotic charm.

The film’s one attempt at originality—a subplot about the wedding being funded by a corporate sponsorship—falls flat. It’s introduced with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, existing solely to justify product placement rather than adding meaningful conflict or commentary. Meanwhile, the supporting cast (including Rachael Harris as Lana’s best friend and Wilson Cruz as her gay best friend) are saddled with one-note roles that feel like leftovers from a 1990s sitcom.

Visually, Mother of the Bride is as uninspired as its writing. Waters’ direction is functional at best, relying on static shots and bland compositions that fail to elevate even the most emotionally charged moments. The Thai wedding setting, which could have offered vibrant colors and cultural richness, is treated with the same indifference as the rest of the film. The cinematography is lifeless, the editing clunky, and the score—when it’s not lifting cues from other rom-coms—feels like it was sourced from a stock music library.

The performances are equally unremarkable. Cosgrove, usually charming in comedic roles (iCarly), is saddled with Emma’s gratingly perky demeanor, making it hard to root for her happiness. Sean Teale, as the groom RJ, is forgettable at best, his chemistry with Cosgrove nonexistent. Even Chad Michael Murray, who could have brought some much-needed charisma as Lana’s love interest Lucas, is sidelined into a thankless role.

But perhaps the most glaring issue is how Mother of the Bride fails to understand its own audience. Rom-coms thrive on escapism and wish fulfillment, but this film offers neither. The characters are so poorly developed that it’s impossible to care about their happiness or struggles. Lana’s journey from reluctant mother-of-the-bride to (presumably) supportive one lacks any real emotional arc. Instead of feeling like a character who evolves through the events of the story, she feels like a puppet being moved through predetermined plot points.

The film also stumbles in its handling of themes that could have added depth. The idea of a mother reconciling with her past while supporting her daughter’s future is rich with potential for exploration—think Stepmom or Youth. But Mother of the Bride never digs deeper, content instead to skate across the surface with broad strokes and hollow sentimentality.

Even the comedy falls flat. Waters, who proved his knack for sharp, subversive humor in Mean Girls, seems to have left his wit at the door. The jokes are either too obvious or too forced, relying on lazy stereotypes and outdated gags. A scene where Lana and her friend (Harris) argue over wedding planning devolves into a slapstick fight, complete with slow-motion hair pulling and exaggerated falls. It’s the kind of humor that might play in a sitcom but feels painfully out of place in a rom-com.

The film’s pacing is another issue. At 95 minutes, Mother of the Bride should feel breezy and light, but instead it drags. The wedding planning montage, which could have been a fun, upbeat sequence, is marred by dull dialogue and uninspired visuals. The climax, where Lana finally confronts Will, lacks the emotional weight or resolution it needs to feel satisfying.

And yet, despite all its flaws, Mother of the Bride isn’t without a few bright spots. Shields, for all her missteps, has moments of genuine charm. Her chemistry with Cruz, though underutilized, offers glimpses of the wit and warmth that could have elevated the entire film. And Cosgrove’s performance, while not groundbreaking, is far from the worst thing about the movie.

But these moments are too few and far between to save Mother of the Bride from its own mediocrity. It’s a rom-com that doesn’t know how to be funny or romantic, a comedy that forgets to be lighthearted, and a drama that lacks emotional heft.