Movie Review: Table 19
Table 19 is promoting itself as a comedy and a "chick flick," but if so, it's the saddest comedy I've ever seen. There are definitely comedic moments throughout the film, but there's a good heap of life issues thrown in there as well.
Eloise McGarry (Anna Kendrick) is determined to attend her oldest friend's wedding - even though her brother, Teddy (Wyatt Russell), just recently broke up with her, after two years of dating, and is now dating someone else. Even though Eloise helped the bride with seating arrangements, she's now been relegated to Table 19 - the very last table in the ballroom, where all the "misfits" get seated. At her table, she meets a couple that currently hate each other (Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson); the bride's former nanny, Nanny Jo (June Squibb); an ex-con who wants to keep that a secret (Stephen Merchant); and a high schooler who is looking for a girl (Tony Revolori). This band of misfits, however, soon comes to Eloise's rescue in her time of need, and she learns that maybe being seated at the "rejects" table isn't so bad after all.
This movie had a great cast, including Amanda Crew (TV's Silicon Valley) and Becky Ann Baker (TV's Girls) in supporting roles. I did like how the film leapt between funny moments—in one scene, some of the denizens of Table 19 fall into the wedding cake—and serious, like when we find out that Kudrow's character was planning on cheating on her husband that weekend. I also liked that the wedding takes place on a Mackinac Island-type island, also in Michigan - it was fun to see everyone's addresses on their wedding invitations, I spotted Kalamazoo on one of them. However, I felt that the film could have been written better, and also advertised better, as the dramedy that it actually is, versus a comedy.
Maybe see this movie. I was never bored during its short runtime (about 1.5 hours), which was good, but there were a lot of plot holes and loose ends, too; at one point, for example, Eloise makes out with whom she thinks is a wedding crasher - later we learn the truth about him, but there are no other explanations given. This film kind of reminded me of a cross between The Breakfast Club and The Romantics, which was a more serious wedding-themed movie. Although I mostly enjoyed Table 19, it's probably not one that I'd watch again; however, if you're in the mood for a different sort of dramedy film, you might enjoy it.
Table 19 is in theaters today, March 3rd, and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 87 minutes. 2.5 stars out of 5.
