'Shotgun Wedding' is pretty much what you expect, except for *that* Jennifer Coolidge scene

"Die Hard astatine a destination wedding" is what I wrote successful my notes portion watching Shotgun Wedding, and what bash you cognize — that operation appears successful the selling materials verbatim. It's nice, isn't it, erstwhile a movie delivers beauteous overmuch what it promises? 

Instead of a retired cop, our improbable heroes trapped successful the party-turned-hostage concern are Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel), whose affluent Latino and gauche achromatic Midwestern families, respectively, stitchery connected a backstage land successful the Philippines for their lavish wedding. They're profoundly successful love, but Tom has been consumed by each tiny item of the large day, portion autarkic big-shot lawyer Darcy feels a chill nipping astatine her heels and ne'er wanted a immense accumulation of a wedding successful the archetypal place. The nighttime before, she's virtually begging him for enactment (in a sweet-and-spicy country that volition person you saying "You cognize J-Lo is FIFTY-THREE?" retired large whether you're watching unsocial oregon not) portion he's connected the level hot-gluing twinkle lights to the pineapple centerpieces.

But conscionable arsenic their issues travel to a caput the greeting of, the land is swarmed by pirates successful apocalyptic arts-and-crafts masks and their motley clump of guests taken hostage successful the edifice pool, and the bride and groom indispensable fumble their mode crossed the land to signifier a rescue. Naturally, amusingly convulsive chaos ensues.

It has immoderate of the sly, chaotic vigor of Game Night, John Francis Daley's underrated 2018 enactment farce with an ordinary, loving but "stuck" mates astatine its halfway you bash really privation to basal for. But wherever Game Night wrings drama retired of its astir convulsive moments, Shotgun Wedding manager Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect) doesn't get the code close successful its attempts to marque the information consciousness genuine portion inactive keeping things light. 

2023 is clearly the year of giving Jennifer Coolidge a gun(Opens successful a caller window). Yes, it's amusive watching Jennifer Coolidge trying to mow down baddies with an battle firearm — just. But it's not really amusive watching the pirates spray bullets astatine the edges of a trapped assemblage and terrified hostage/guests, shrieking and whimpering successful precise convincing fear. Those moments tipped implicit the bladed enactment the movie manages to locomotion successful different moments of existent unit that are played for laughs, similar Tom's shocked processing aft helium semi-accidentally kills a pirate. 

The film's biggest crime, though, is the proportionality of usually charismatic performers who are wasted oregon miscast. Comedy icon Cheech Marin is hardly determination arsenic Darcy's affluent father; D'Arcy Carden doesn't rather person the malevolent ethereality required for the relation of his hippie girlfriend; determination are severely diminishing returns connected an initially promising Lenny Kravitz arsenic Darcy's absurdly creaseless and unwelcome ex; and a promising, sparky B-romance betwixt You're The Worst's Desmin Borges and The Flight Attendant's Callie Hernandez sputters and ne'er gets resolved. 

And past there's Coolidge. Her full career, fto unsocial her caller imagination award-season run, has shown that she tin accidental virtually thing and marque it comic adjacent erstwhile she's conscionable being herself, and Moore has said(Opens successful a caller window) that she was escaped to improvise connected acceptable and did so. So wherefore does astir each enactment she has onshore with a thud? It's mostly the responsibility of the script, which saves its funniest lines for everyone but her (her Wish.com(Opens successful a caller window) Vin Diesel enactment arsenic she shoulders that instrumentality gun? "Nobody fucks with my family!") — but it besides feels similar she's been stuffed into a generic embarrassing-mom relation that unforgivably stifles her earthy irrepressibility. 

Also unforgivable? Casting her arsenic Duhamel's parent erstwhile she's hardly 11 years his senior. C'mon, Hollywood.

The enactment is mostly fun, though it gets a small shaggy towards the extremity (notwithstanding the astir absurdly gruesome drama decease I've seen since Violent Night) and adjacent Darcy and Tom's improbable enactment leader presumption is semi-backed up by their backstories (Tom is simply a insignificant league shot player, for example, truthful contempt being a spot goofy he's acceptable and has bully hand-eye coordination) portion besides keeping things relatable for drama reasons (Darcy faints astatine the show of blood, and their cobbled-together schemes seldom play retired arsenic planned). 

It's besides refreshing to spot 2 — admittedly precise genetically blessed — radical successful their 50s arsenic the cardinal mates successful a wedding movie, with genuinely sexy chemistry, and to person zero chat astir babies oregon children, particularly fixed the title. And let's look it, what we're truly present for is that inevitable changeable of Lopez with her battered wedding formal torn artfully down to the bones, toting the titular weapon. When it gets there, it's hard not to beryllium impressed. It's her prima powerfulness — and her wildly underrated quality to assistance mid-tier worldly with her Marilyn-like sparkle and comedic timing — that prevention Shotgun Wedding from being a full misfire.

Shotgun Wedding is present streaming connected Prime Video.(Opens successful a caller window)

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