This week, a look back at the Alan Alda family comedy of a father trying to figure out how to pay for his daughter’s wedding, while trying to get out of a housing deal with a mobster.
Logline
Eddie Hopper is a successful builder, who has a loving family with his wife Lola, and his two daughters Betsy and Connie. A recent housing project looks like it is going to fall through, but Eddie gets a reprieve in the form of financial investment from his brother-in-law Oscar. As the deal seems solid for the new development, Eddie and the family learn that Betsy and her boyfriend Jake are getting married.
Now that the housing deal is on a solid footing, Eddie spends a lot of time ensuring the work is done and plans for his daughter’s wedding. When Oscar brings in another partner named Georgie and his nephew Stevie Dee, Eddie’s life gets a lot more complicated.
While he tries to guide his daughter to success, battling Betsy’s to be in-laws for who will pay what at the wedding, Eddie learns that Georgie is a mobster. Uneasy with the new arrangement and how close Stevie Dee and his daughter Connie are getting, Eddie must figure out a way to get out of business with the mob, with his life intact.
High Praise
I like Alan Alda and always will. His sweetness as Eddie makes me like the character, and Alda makes Eddie to be a guy who just wants the best for his kids and suffers from the same insecurities that any parent would when placed in a similar situation.
Alda makes Eddie so likable that you can’t help but root for his success. The charm of the movie is spread amongst the cast, but Betsy’s Wedding doesn’t work if Eddie is anything but what Alda puts on the screen. Thankfully, Alan Alda guides his character with grace, wit, and a bit of jealousy that feels like reality.
Molly Ringwald and Dylan Walsh are great in their roles, but Ally Sheedy and Anthony LaPaglia are the secret sauce to this movie. Their chemistry is incredible, and they almost steal the movie for the intricacy of their story. The fact that Stevie Dee is willing to give up the mob life and join the police force so he can be with Connie, is sweet, and ridiculous, but loveable.
Having Joey Bishop as the dead father guiding Eddie through his most difficult moments was a brilliant choice. It’s in these moments between the father and Eddie that brings home the truth of family, and how everyone makes mistakes, and the key point of having your own family is to try and not make the same mistakes as your own parents did. Bishop was a wise choice as the sage from beyond the grave.
What Were They Thinking
Joe Pesci is a great actor. The character of Oscar is terrible, and I vehemently disliked every scene he was in.
Catherine O’Hara and Madeline Kahn deserved more screen time. They are massive comedic talents and would have been hilarious if their characters had more development.
Backlot Knowledge
- Anthony LaPaglia was nominated for a Most Promising Actor award with the Chicago Film Critics Association.
- Apparently, the film is inspired by Alan Alda’s daughter’s wedding.
- The movie is also loosely based on the 1950 Spencer Tracy film, Father of the Bride.
- During an interview, Joe Pesci was asked about his work on Betsy’s Wedding and the actor would not discuss the movie.
- Alan Alda was interviewed in 2016 by Marc Maron for his podcast, where the writer/director/star of the film talked about how he didn’t have fun on the film. Alda refused to elaborate when Maron pressed him for more detail. (Could he possibly not have gotten along with Pesci?)
- Roger Ebert gave the movie two stars and noted that the film often played the plot intricacies of the setting safe, with little development of the story, and a lack of focus on the main character of Betsy. He did love Anthony LaPaglia’s work in the movie though.
Critical Response
{Snub-Skip this Film, Overexposed-Desperate for Something to Watch, Clapper-A Perfect Film For Any Device, Magic Hour– You Must Watch This Film on a Big Screen, Award Worthy– This Film is Cinema.}
Betsy’s Wedding is not a great film, but it’s pleasant and funny, and sweet, with some charming performances from Alan Alda, and a standout pairing of Ally Sheedy and Anthony LaPaglia. There is a certain amount of innocence and silliness to the film that never takes itself seriously but stays true to not overdoing the story they are acting out. It feels real, and flat at the same time which kind of mirrors what real life can be like.
There is nothing special about Betsy’s Wedding, but it does get the Clapper award from me. This is the perfect film for any device, and one of the best for when you are on the go and looking to kill some time on your commute.
Best Quotable Line
This comes from Connie talking to Stevie Dee after he professes his love for her.
“I’m a cop, and you’re . . . not.”
Call Sheet
- Alan Alda as Eddie Hopper
- Madeline Kahn as Lola Hopper
- Molly Ringwald as Betsy Hopper
- Ally Sheedy as Connie Hopper
- Joey Bishop as Mr. Hopper (Eddie’s dad)
- Joe Pesci as Oscar Henner
- Catherine O’Hara as Gloria Henner
- Burt Young as Georgie
- Anthony LaPaglia as Stevie Dee
- Dylan Walsh as Jake Lovell
Production Team:
Directed by Alan Alda
Produced by Touchstone Pictures / Silver Screen Partners IV / Martin Bregman Productions
Written by Alan Alda
Release Date: June 22, 1990
Budget: $35 million
Domestic Box Office Gross: $19,740,070
Coming Attractions
Next week, a look back at Helen Mirren’s The Hundred Foot Journey.