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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
Polish Wedding
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 out of 4
Review by Susan Granger
1 star out of 4
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Even with a stellar cast that includes Lena Olin, Gabriel
Byrne, and Claire Danes, first-time writer/director Theresa Connelly's
ridiculouscomedy quickly becomes a Polish joke. The story revolves
around the boisterous, working-class, immigrant Pzoniak family in
Detroit who are devoted to pickles, pierogi, the polka, and the
American dream. Papa (Gabriel Byrne) is a baker; Mama (Lena Olin) and
daughter-in-law (Mili Avital) workas cleaning women; and the three
grown sons drive an 18-wheeler. To their chagrin, the only daughter
(Claire Danes) is a reckless, pouty high-school drop-out - and
carelessly pregnant, despite the fact that she's playing Mother Mary
in the local church's Festival of the Virgin procession. Like her
mother, she's a lusty wench. Mama's into long-term adultery with a
successful businessman (Rade Serbedzija) who calls her his "queen"
andtheir trysts are consummated on the tile floor of the men's
bathroom where they cavort in soapy detergent. These professed
Roman Catholics rationalize their wanton sexual behavior with their
passionate belief in "making love and life." Credit Ms. Connelly for
writing and directing earthy characters with whom she's familiar -
she grew up in the Polish-American Detroit suburb of Hamtramck - but
all the sticky, sweet, blue-collar melodrama doesn't add up to a
movie. Whenever there's a dramatic crisis withinthe family, Connelly
goes for inappropriate slapstick farce. So, on the Granger Movie
Gauge of 1 to 10, "Polish Wedding" is a sappy 3. It's a wannabe
"Moonstruck" that is struck down.
Copyright © 1998 Susan Granger
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