Product: Father of the Bride [VHS] (1950)
Rating: 5.0
Sons are sons until they get wives, but daughters are daughters all of their lives...
`Father of the Bride' is a film to warm your heart, a beautiful tale of fatherly affections and the bond that is formed, at times silently, between a father and his daughter. There aren't many father/daughter films, the majority of the father films made have to deal with the bond between a father and his son, so it is nice to see a film like `Father of the Bride'. Where Steve Martin's 1991 remake of this classic was far more centered on the comedic aspects, going the slapstick route in parts, this 1950 original is far more reserved and ultimately far more rewarding.For those of you not familiar with the plot, `Father of the Bride' (as if the title was self-explanatory) tells the story of Stanley Banks. Stanley opens the film slumped over in a chair, broken glass and debris on the floor, and he proceeds to recite a monologue about weddings. You see, Stanley has just endured his daughter's wedding, and he is about to relay to you the events that led up to that fateful day. Stanley has two boys, but he only has one daughter; Kay. Kay is young and charming and beautiful. Kay is in love, with Buckley Dunstan, a boy whom Stanley is unaware of. Stanley isn't keen on the idea of his precious little girl getting married, but soon he corralled into planning the extravagant wedding he didn't want while his wife goes a little crazy with the idea. As the day looms over his head, he begins to warm to the idea, if only to see his daughter truly happy.And then he has to back away from the bride and take his seat next to his wife.UGH.I was not expecting the sublime quality of this film. I mean, I like the 1991 remake and all, but it isn't even in the same caliber as this Vincente Minnelli charmer. The tones here are far more subtle and the humor is allowed to sneak up on you. It hits you in all the right ways, giving you an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia; as if their life were a beautiful mirror into your own. The scenes are set up with a splendid crispness, and the performances are uniformly superb. Elizabeth Taylor was the image of perfection; an iconic beauty (one of the most beautiful human beings ever created) and she shines with such delicious purity. For an actress wholly confident in her sexuality, Taylor tones things down to create a young girl filled with bridled innocence. Joan Bennett is just outstanding was Ellie, Kay's mother. Her stares alone are comedic genius (the drunk scene, at the Dunstan's home...priceless), but she also has moments of such tender emotion, like when she confides in her husband her shattered dreams of a lavish wedding. But, this film is all about Spencer Tracy; one of the finest actors to ever grace the big screen. His paternal naturalness is so tender and endearing, and his eyes, the way they `take in' a scene, he's just spellbinding. Every movement he makes is grounded in an authenticity; etching out for us a man who is an `every-man'. His concern for his daughter's happiness and the pain in his heart for the loss of her innocence is breathtakingly sincere.You can feel him.At the end of the day, `Father of the Bride' is a treasure. This is one to make a grown man cry (it happened), especially if you have that little wonder in your life that you dread `giving away'.