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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"Father of The Bride" is one
of those rare instances in filmdom where I think
the remake has actually improved on the original.
Director Vincente Minnelli's 1950 "Father of the
Bride" starred Spencer Tracy as harried George
Banks and the stunning Elizabeth Taylor as his
daughter, Kaye. And although I have a great
affinity for both these performers, in retrospect
neither seems to be served well by the dated and
stagy source material. Forget the '50s sexual
politics, which, for its time, must have seemed
innovative. It's the Salvador Dali-esque dream
sequence that continues to haunt me.
How wonderful then to experience Steve Martin's
tender take on George and Kimberly Williams (now
renamed Annie) as his effervescently headstrong
daughter. The story -- that of a harried and
overly protective father suddenly faced with the
reality that his little girl is getting married --
is nearly identical to the original, and yet it's
strangely and wonderfully fresh and different.
Martin Short makes a welcome addition to the cast
as Annie's flamboyant wedding coordinator Frank
Engelhoff (played straight in the original by Leo
Genn). George Newbern costars as the groom (Bryan
McKenzie now, Buckley Dunston in the original).
Dianne Keaton, B.D. Wong and Kate McGregor-Stewart
are also all welcomed additions of inspired
casting. There is a sense of enduring poignancy to
this film that I found completely lacking in the
original.
The DVD transfer from Touchstone is in a word,
unacceptable. It's widescreen -- yes, but not
anamorphic. Contrast levels are way too low. And
although there are no digital anomalies to speak
of (aliasing, shimmering, edge enhancement, et al)
color balancing is incredibly weak. Interior
scenes are either excessively pink or orange while
exterior night scenes tend to be awash in an
undistinguished mesh of midnight blues. Fine
detail is never fully realized. There's a decided
hazy quality to the entire film that makes it look
much older than it actually is. Several scenes are
very blurry while overall the picture is only
moderately sharp at best. The soundtrack is Dolby
2-channel and adequate, I suppose -- but just
barely. There are no extra features. This is
definitely a film that could stand a new "Vista
Series" deluxe edition! |
