Ceremony
Tags: romantic

Plot synopsis:
The film begins with Masuo Sakurada receiving a telegram from his cousin Terumichi. He is traveling with his cousin Ritsuko to check out his cabin and see if the telegram is true. Masuo has a flashback to the ceremony on the first anniversary of his father's death, after he and his mother repatriated to Japan from Manchuria. Because his younger brother died before they returned from Manchuria, Masuo is expected to live for two sons.
Throughout each of the ceremonies, the tangled family web is revealed, with numerous instances of incest that make the relationships between each of the family members somewhat unclear. The continued incest is not only expected amongst the family. Masuo himself is interested in Setsuko, and later Ritsuko, and finds himself in competition with Terumichi for them.
Masuo finds himself sacrificing much of his freedom for the family. He has a talent for baseball, but gives it up when his mother dies and he is not present. He burns all of his baseball possessions except his glove. His sacrifice reaches its climax when he goes through a marriage ceremony to an absentee bride at his grandfather's insistence. He finally releases his frustration and hatred for his grandfather afterward. His grandfather dies years later, and at his memorial service Masuo is asked by his uncles to marry as quickly as possible to have another heir to the family lineage.
Masuo and Ritsuko finally arrive at Terumichi's cabin in the film's final segment, to discover that the telegram informing them of Terumichi's death is true. Ritsuko feels an obligation to commit suicide next to Terumichi, because he had been her lover. Masuo leaves the scene, and outside has a flashback to a childhood memory of playing baseball with his cousins and Setsuko, who have all died.

Review: The romantic desperation of flawed characters with humour, love and understanding.
Sam (Michael Angarano) is going to take his friend Marshall (Reece Thompson) on an adventure.
The girl is Zoe (Uma Thurman) and she's about to marry Whit because he's rich and handsome.
Sam, although just as immature, is likely a bit more well-read than Gatsby, and he makes some hilarious and shrewd remarks about Whit and Zoe, their relationship, and about the relationship he would like to have with Zoe."Ceremony" is not actually like "The Great Gatsby", but the simple parallels that you can make amongst all the characters, illustrates how anyone would be able to find something to connect to in Fitzgerald's classic.
And then afterwards, you will be able to find an extra layer of meaning in "Ceremony".This is a romantic comedy, or coming-of-age journey, that is delightfully funny, whimsically quirky, but with a real sense of character.
What makes me confident that he will become a great writer is when his characters discuss the art of writing characters all the while being completely oblivious to their own flaws.Michael Angarano shows that he is becoming the star that he deserves to be (if this finds an audience) with his quick delivery of witty lines and his ability to sport a moustache and a burnt-orange suit throughout the entire movie without ever making a single joke feel tired.
The younger Reese Thompson (playing the year-and-a-half older Marshall) seemed a bit out of his league, but then again he's playing a character who is a bit out of his league.Although it takes place during a weekend wedding with a guy trying to win over a girl, it doesn't follow any standard romantic comedy trajectories.
I enjoyed the first five minutes of Ceremony, where the main character is reading from his children's book in a library, and the camera slowly pans back to reveal all empty seats, except for one adult, who applauds enthusiastically at the reading's conclusion.
It was original and funny, and I thought I was in for a good movie.I couldn't have been more wrong.
The rest of the movie is plagued with one-note characters, (mostly) uninteresting dialogue, and good actor's talents wasted.
All of the plot points have been done before, and better (e.g. the lovelorn sap chases down the woman he loves who is slated to marry a jerk).
Uma Thurman's fiancé is so blatantly obviously a jerk as to be a caricature (in an unfunny way), and it is unbelievable that an intelligent woman would see enough in this man to marry him.The class differences at the resort is an old, tired plot device, as was the outdoor scavenger-hunt the host's family traditionally plays, which veered into the ridiculous.I'll give one example of a poorly thought out scene.
Uma Thurman visit's the main character in his guest room to talk, since they were old flames.
The movie is riddled with head-scratching moments like this, as if the writer was also the proofreader and didn't catch errors in logic (or overdone clichés).The best friend, who has been used by the main character finally leaves, which is the only believable occurrence in the movie.
The trailer depicted the movie as being a road-trip type romantic comedy, and as a group we decided that it looked like a decent movie.
Our big problem with the movie was that the main character Sam Davis (Michael Angarano) is such an a-hole that we couldn't engage emotionally with this movie.
I find it very hard to enjoy a movie where the main character is such an a-hole that you would like to shoot him yourself, and you are hoping throughout the duration of the movie that he does NOT get the girl.
One Note Quirky little indie movie, could have been lot more funnier....
CEREMONY – CATCH IT ( B- ) Ceremony is a quirky little movie about young guy crashing the wedding of the woman he loves.
The movie is smart, funny and full of good performances by the lead stars.
Michael Angarano hopelessly in love is something to see, he brings the madness to the movie.
The movie is quirky & funny but lacks big time in screenplay.
The movie has a slow start establishing Sam's character as an absolute jerk and his friend Marchall's character as a whiny hypochondriac.
However, things pick up nicely when Uma Thurman (Zoe) comes on scene.
Nothing like a major star like her to pick things up.The setting is a gorgeous beach house on the ocean, with all the beautiful people partying for a weekend wedding - who doesn't love a wedding!
Sam's character unfolds delightfully as his deeply romantic self comes to the fore.
The movie, thankfully, doesn't take the easy way out by tying things up with a bow, but leaves you with the sweetness of the mystery of life..
It has a bit of a Wes Anderson look to the film which feels a little vintage and keeps your eyes satisfied throughout.
The movie was a good balance of comedy and romance.
Watchable romantic comedy stars the diminutive Angarano as Sam, the man with the plan to whisk his true love (Thurman) away from her fiancé (Pace), moments away from the altar.
Unfortunately for Sam, Thurman's character has outgrown their once-brief tryst and sees stability and maturity in her imminent marriage, even if Pace is somewhat egotistical and high on self importance.Not a lot happening here, with minor chuckles and melancholy moments the general tone, Thurman's towering height and obvious age, both dwarfing Angarano, who's seemingly behind the eight ball all the way.
Thompson as his best friend begins to suspect a ruse when they're "inadvertantly" invited to the wedding, and the once strong friendship that has cooled over the years, serves as the film's dramatic baseline, not quite a bro-mance, but equally, something short of true romance.
He also has a funny scene in which he naively pops a party pill with some amusing consequences.Director Winkler never really seems to find the right tenor, lost amid light humour (predominantly from Johnson as Thurman's drug-addled brother) and pathos with little content to develop and only the natural appeal of Angarano and Thurman off which to pivot.
Just out the gate, I think there's two types of people who will like this: a) those with a eye for hipster-esque romantic indies with above-average dialogue and sweet scenes that breathe and b) those who have a affinity for one of the main cast (Thurman, Pace, Angarano).
Uma is excellent (as always) and with her Idiosyncrasies, she fits the character of Zoe wonderfully.
Michael Angarano is great for these roles and along with Reece Thompson, they were refreshingly original compared to cliché duel characters you see in most comedies.
From the beginning of the story, with the introduction of Sam and Marshall you will laugh and grow to like them right away!
The characters, Whit and Zoe's brother Teddy, are hilarious and you cant help , but to shake your head with giggles when they speak.
A movie about a 30 something woman getting married and a young lover from her past gate crashing.
The whole way through this film you are guessing at the plot, at why a scene is playing out the way it is, and what is really going on.
It is very obscure, not made any easier with the whole different storyline going on with Uma's character's brother.
I struggled on with this film purely because I thought it would get better, and particularly I will admit because Uma was listed in it and I had enjoyed her acting in the past.Save yourself the bother and don't bother pressing play.
Sam Davis (Michael Angarano, a brilliant young actor in his early 20s, so memorable in the deeply touching 'One Last Thing') writes children's books and lives in the child like fantasies of kids.
He has a friend Marshall Schmidt (Reece Thompson, another early 20s bright young talent) who happens to show up as the only member of an audience to hear Sam read his latest new children's book.
The two boys rekindle their friendship, stagnant for the past year while Marshall recovered from an altercation and hid in his parents home while Sam had a momentary encounter with a beautiful 30s something woman Zoe (Uma Thurman).
The two lads decide to take a little trip to ostensibly to get Marshall out of his parent's home to see the world, but in actuality Sam has heard that Zoe is marrying some wealthy guy, Whit Coutell (Lee Pace, another brilliant actor remembered for his shattering performance in 'Soldier's Girl'), at Whit's lavish seaside home.
Sam and Marshall mend long absent feelings of closeness and taking some daring steps they drive to the seaside estate, obtain an invitation to Zoe's party (her wedding to Whit Actually) from Zoe's drunken brother Teddy (Jake M.
Sam confronts Zoe, stating his love and his desire to marry her, but Zoe needs more than a young kid to satisfy her and sees the opportunities of marrying the moneyed Whit.
Michael Angarano is pitch perfect as Sam, a young man whose ideals are tested and who must learn the adult role.
Reece Thompson is not far behind, and Uma Thurman gives one of her most well rounded performances.
But in the end most of the credit for the success of this little gem is due to the talent of Max Winkler who writes as well as he directs: he is a formidable force.
Uma Thurman was the SOLE REASON for renting this film--- none of the other actors are familiar to us, except for Michael Angarano (from The Forbidden Kingdom) in his first "adult" leading role!The leads are competent, but you still wonder if the movie would have done better at the box office had Jesse Eisenberg hadn't backed out last minute (Angarano was supposed to play "Marshall", the sidekick).Nevertheless, this movie reminded me of "Rushmore," even though the plot is more like "The Graduate." (If you've seen both movies, then you'll understand my analogy).Max Winkler, son of The Fonz, has done a great job as a rookie director.
He's got a great future ahead....Finally, I have to say that Jake Johnson ("Teddy") really adds a "Hangover" dimension to this film, in a good way!
He is only one of many quirky supporting characters who make this a lovable film....one you're likely to purchase rather than rent!.
I will say that "Ceremony" is not actually the average romantic comedy, and that was one of the brighter moments of the movie.
That being said, then "Ceremony" was a rather uneventful and somewhat pointless movie.The story was almost too simplistic and offered no laughs along the way.
It took director Max Winkler one hour and twenty-six minutes to get from A to B, and managed to almost tell nothing along the way.It should be said that the people on the cast list were doing good jobs with their given roles, and there were some good talents performing in the movie.
It was actually Lee Pace who carried the movie with his performance, despite not having a leading role.Should you happen to like romantic comedies, then there are far better choices of this genre available out there..
It's main character, "Big" Sam Davis, provokes your sympathy, for me even empathy.
He's hapless and suave, as is his best friend, and their misadventure on a weekend of friendship and finding love is so poignant, well e-quipped with humour, and fantastically grand in it's reality that it becomes compulsive viewing not only for it's strong emotional journey, but also for it's delectable slice of mid-twenties adolescence at an impasse with life.
I dare you to find even one character in this movie that isn't charming.
The similarities between Max Winkler's Ceremony and Wes Andersons work are absolutely obvious, down to the small details.
Watching Ceremony I was reminded of Dignan making his absurd plans, Anthony Adams falling in love, and of course, Max Fisher pursuing Miss Cross.
I loved Uma playing Zoe but truthfully, she was too stylish for this movie part.
Sam was too short and young for Zoe, and his way of running a friendship was a disaster all the way around.
I wasted my time watching this movie but let it play while doing homework or napping.
There was no comedy in this movie and i challenge anybody find at least a funny if not laughable moment within the entire piece of work.
Other than Zoe, Marshall played a good role and he did the best out of it.
This film tells the story of a young man who convinces a friend to go to the beach for a holiday.
As for the film itself, the only is alright, but I have trouble getting the film because of the age difference between Sam and Zoe. Though I can see that the age difference is an integral part of the story, it still is not a believable romance.
Old versus New. The movie has quite a lot going for it.
Especially story wise but also with a very strong lead performance by Uma Thurman.
And while quite a lot seems ridiculous (the male friendship even though there is some shattering, but almost too late to be really plausible), it all works somehow.It's not your standard romantic comedy, that is for sure.
The male antagonist gets a bit too cliché at the end and almost unworthy of Umas love/affection in the first place.
When I start to watch a movie that I've taped on my DVR I usually come to IMDb and read some of the reviews just to get a sense of where it's going before I give up my time.
I know we've seen all kinds of wedding movies with similar plots.
In fact I'm sure Marshall really appreciated the attention he got from Sam as he had his own issues which made him appear as someone who doesn't get out much.I also appreciated the fact that this wasn't the predictable boy loves girl, boy tries to break up impending marriage and boy succeeds.I read someone else complain that Zoe was marrying an *hole who you knew was an *hole from the start.
Yes he was a bit self absorbed but so are many successful people.I thought the emotions that Zoe felt for Sam were very real and appropriate for what their situation really was and her reluctance to hurt him was well written.
At the end you could see that Sam (and Marshall for that matter) grew up a little bit more.
A children's book author, Sam Davis, is presenting his newest work.
To our surprise, only his friend Marshall has come to support Sam. The book is terrible, perhaps a bit better than the previous one whose subject was a flying koala bear.
Sam has invited Marshall to come along for a week-end in Long Island.
Secretly, Sam has been madly in love with this woman, who also got interested in him, for just a brief period of time.Sam and Marshall are staying in a hotel near the mansion where the celebration will be held.
Sam does not want to lose her, although for all practical purposes he has come too late to make his claim.Written and directed by Max Winkler, "Ceremony" is an indie we saw recently on DVD format.
Zoe, a thirty something gorgeous woman has had a fling with the much younger Sam. Obviously he thought their brief romance would continue, but the reality Zoe has moved on.
Marshall, on the other hand, feels used by Sam, a man he felt was his friend, but he is finding otherwise.
Unfortunately for Sam, he has come too late to even think he can rekindle what he had with Zoe.Michael Angarano started early in films and he is finally coming into his own.
The emphasis in the film is the age difference between Sam and Zoe. Mr.
Angarano looks much younger than he is against the more mature Uma Thurman who appears as Zoe. Ms.
Reece Thompson, especially, seen as Marshall, is one of the best things in the film.
Lee Pace, who plays Whit, makes an impression as the movie star.
Sam is in love with a woman who is getting married this weekend; and he is determined to stop it.
Sam writes children's books , Zoe, the woman he loves is about to marry a big time "nature documentary" film maker, Whit.
Marshall is along for this ride, but thinks he is there for some quality time with his best friend, Sam. There is a bit of that uncomfortable "social class" , high brow/low brow referencing here; but it unfolds beautifully and becomes clear what the story is saying.
Also, the age difference between Sam and Zoe is not that much, but enough to make a difference where understanding certain things come into play.
I wont spoil it, but what Zoe tells Sam, he doesn't seem to understand how that could be.
When this movie came out Michael Angarano was 23 and Uma Thurman was 40.
In this entertaining little movie that is at its core.Angarano is Sam Davis , a not overly successful author of children's books.
So this weekend they are on an excursion outside the city (N.Y.) and end up at a beaten down inn, just adjacent to and sharing a beach with an upscale place where, it just HAPPENS, a party is planning a big wedding.The bride to be is Uma Thurman as Zoe and Sam has traveled there specifically to try to divert the wedding plans.
But at least one of the issues, from Zoe's point of view, is the age difference.
Plus the fact that her fiancée has a career and income, unlike Sam.The IMDb rating is about right, overall it isn't that good a movie, much of the dialog doesn't work very well, but Thurman and Angarano are both nice to watch and that makes it worth the time for light entertainment.