Mother of the Bride (1993) by director Charles Correll is the third and final film in the "bride" series of made for television movies concerning the comical exploits of the dysfunctional Becker family, mother, her new husband and her messed-up grown kids.
In the final installment of this series married couple Margret (Rue McClanahan) and her younger husband John (Ted Shackelford) are happily enjoying their time together as well as with their young son. All of the children have left the house with the exception of daughter Mary (Kristy McNichol) and her own daughter who still live with them. As both son and granddaughter are the same age they both attend the same preschool; that is where Mary bumps into Ken (Jeff Yagher), a construction worker working at the school where his son also attends. Mary is not looking for romance with Ken, in fact she takes an immediate dislike to him as he just rubs her the wrong way, but it doesn't take long though before he starts winning her over with his rough charm. Anne (Anne Bobby) who has now also become romantically involved with officer Nick (Greg Kean) is only waiting for him to "pop the question" which he finally does. Anne and Nick decide that they both want a simple wedding but that is of course before mother Margret gets involved and the simple wedding suddenly becomes much more complicated. Further complicating the matter is that Margret's ex-husband Richard (Paul Dooley) has abruptly returned after many years of absence. He abandoned his wife and children many years ago and now has returned wanting to get back into his family's life. He wants to be involved in his daughter's wedding and begins spending money with reckless abandon (which isn't discouraged by his daughter Anne). Son Dennis (Brett Cullen) doesn't want anything to do with the man that deserted him many years before and becomes more and more hostile towards him at every turn. It all starts to come apart as Richard's checks start bouncing all over town causing all of Anne's wedding plans to fall to pieces. With only a week left can the whole family come together and pull the wedding off, and maybe even bring this feuding family closer together?
This was the last of the "bride" comedies, this one isn't as funny as the two previous films but it still has a lot of laughs and is worth taking a look. By this third installment the story about the wacky Becker clan is just getting tired and has naturally ran its course. Rue McClanahan again stars, doing a great job; she is the one person that holds this story together and keeps it working even after the premise has started to become worn. The supporting cast is all good, helping to keep this production funny and interesting. Paul Dooley, always entertaining, is great as the juvenile father looking for a second chance. Anne Bobby has a larger role here than in the previous films giving her a chance to better show her acting abilities. Kristy McNichol is also back and does her usual excellent work having some truly funny moments and some dramatic ones as well in this film, which would be her final movie role. All in all an amusing little comedy that explores life, love and the greatest challenge that anyone might face, one's family.
Buying note: This movie has now been released on a budget priced DVD that does not have any special features. It is available separately or as a set with the other 2 films Children of the Bride and Baby of the Bride and should be readily available in both stores as well as at the usual internet sources.
7-19-2006
