The Groomsmen

This movie was great, because it took a real life situation and made it fun and entertaining. One of the reasons I liked this movie so much is I thought the casting was excellent. Every actor and actress fit and portrayed their character so well. Even the those that were not the main characters were excellent and made it an Ensemble Cast. The movie flowed and always kept you laughing. I really liked the music. Ed chose some great hits from the past and there was a new one at the end, Four Cheers that was excellent. I liked the way the music would move you into the next scene. In fact I've been singing the songs ever since I saw the movie. I definitely recommend this movie.

I can't understand why this film has not been greeted with close to raves from most of the critics; but then, it seems that lots of folks resent Ed Burns' career. He made one good film, Brothers McMullen, and then produced a series of half-baked follow ups. Plus, his good looks gave him an acting career that others must envy.

His good luck aside, Burns is back in top form with The Groomsmen, an insightful look at a group of boy/men tip toeing into middle age. His ear for the venacular, in this case Long Island/Bronx Irish, is just about perfect, he creates an inviting sense of time and place and his work with the actors is pitch perfect.

Ironically, the only weak performance in the film is Burns'. His good looking Irish poker face is not compelling enough to communicate his character's inner turmoil. Matt Dillon, could he have been afforded, would have nailed this role. That said, Burns contributes a basic sense of human decency that permeates the film; it's in his character and in his writing.

I loved the whole cast, but was particularly moved by Matthew Lilligard's portrayal of a "regular joe," a bar owner who dreams of his glory days as a garage band musician now that he is the father of two. His speech about his children, buzzed, standing on his porch in the middle of the night, is a WONDERFUL example of expressive acting and, for me, the highlight of the entire film.

Don't blow this one off if you feel you've been burned by Burns in the past (sorry about that). His ending is too pat, unworthy of some of the honest, painful material that has preceded it; but all in all The Groomsmen makes me look forward to his next film. Check this one out, probably will be great when it hits NETFLIX.

The new Ed Burns movie, The Groomsmen, is the seemingly simple story of friends coming together to celebrate an upcoming wedding. Paulie (Ed Burns), the soon-to-be groom/father, is the central character around whom the others revolve. The groomsmen (Jay Mohr, Donal Logue, John Leguizamo, and Matthew Lillard) gather in their home town before the big day, having decided to fore go the "traditional bachelor party" in order to relive the best time of their lives when the most important things were Beer, Baseball and the Band.

Along the way to recapturing their youth, snippets of dissatisfaction, insecurity and regret are woven into the story. With skillful editing and realistic dialogue, Mr. Burns subtly strips away the macho banter, allowing the audience to get to know and care about these life-long friends. In each scene with an individual groomsman, Paulie (the former tag-along little brother) seems to be giving, rather than receiving, advice and in doing so works through his own pre-nuptial jitters. While counseling his old friends he comes to realize he's almost lost his newest friend. The seemingly simplistic resolutions are actually testaments to lasting friendships in which a nod and a hug are all that are necessary to realize you do have the best of both worlds.

This really is such a good movie: the characters are well-developed, the acting is understated, the cinematography is beautiful and the music is not only good, but pertinent. The audience is made to feel a part of it. Thank you, Mr. Burns et al, for 90 minutes of entertainment and hours of discussion on what makes these guys tick. I'm not just going to recommend this movie to my friends, I'll be going back to see it with them! Four Cheers!!

This must be said: "The Groomsmen" was a great and highly underrated film. I follow independent cinema moderately closely, and I don't actually remember this film coming out in theaters. I don't see why it wouldn't have, given the cast of the film. The lead actors in this movie are mostly well-respected in the entertainment industry, if they're not A-listers already. So it's surprising to me this film didn't get a wider release than it actually did.

I found it on DVD in my local video store. I loved Edward Burns in "The Brothers McMullen", "She's The One", and "Saving Private Ryan", so I thought another movie directed by him would be good. I saw it, and it turns out I was right: I really liked the film a lot. Like "McMullen" especially, the movie revolves around guys who live around Long Island, some who are married, and a few who are single, and their struggle to commit. There are a lot of laughs in the film, but it also has a great amount of heart to it. Burns is great playing the laid-back, funny guy he normally plays in his films. Even better, the guys who played his friends, namely Matthew Lillard, Donald Logue (who actually plays his brother), Jay Mohr, and John Leguizamo, were all better than I thought they would be. All of them probably give the best performances of their career (especially Leguizamo).

That being said, here's what the back cover of the DVD says: "The countdown to Paulie's (Edward Burns) wedding . . . reunites Paulie's childhood pals for a week-long raucous bachelor party filled with laughs at every turn. Join in the revelry as this wild bunch relives their glory days with hilarious antics that you'll never forget." The front artwork shows the four friends behind Burns. Burns is smiling, giving Brittany Murphy a piggyback ride in her wedding gown, and wearing a T-shirt that reads "HELP!" in bright red letters. So from this DVD artwork, I thought this film was a frat-house comedy/bachelor party comedy about a guy who wants to go for one final fling before tying the knot. It's unfortunate, too, because that's not at all what the movie is about. Guys who want to see that kind of raunchy, mindless comedy will be sorely disappointed, while other guys who want to see a smart comedy about relationships and camaraderie will pass this movie by in the video store, or even on Netflix. Why do these DVD artwork designers do that? It really ruins the film's credibility in the long run.

Fortunately, I picked out the film because I like Edward Burns, and it exceeded my expectations tenfold. The film had its faults, such as some scenes that went on for longer than they should have. But overall, the film serves as an example of how romantic comedies should be. Other directors who work with higher budget films that star Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts should take a hint from Burns. He knows how to make a much better film on a much lower budget.

I'm sure Edward Burns gets plenty of complaints about his films, and I'm probably part of the minority that has enjoyed every single film he's done so far (at least out of the films he's written and directed). I can sort of understand why. Film is meant to be a visual medium, and as much as I enjoy his work, Burns is not exactly a director whose prime concern is the visuals. But I don't care! I'm one of the few film buffs who has never checked out any of the "Lord of the Rings" flicks. Why is that? Because I don't give a damn about special effects or CGI or elaborate sets or elaborate costumes. I care about interesting characters and interesting dialogue, and Burns always delivers in those two departments. I can relate to many of the characters in his films. I can't relate to Hobbits or whatever creatures you see in those "LOTR" flicks. Having watched the film's previews, I thought this might be Burns' attempt at making a more mainstream feature. But it wasn't. It was a typical Burns flick with typical Burns characters, who all have troubled love lives and swig Heineken like no tomorrow. "The Groomsmen" has a few flaws. Some of the NY accents sounded fake and came and went. Jay Mohr is from Jersey, so he really didn't have to try so hard to fake a NY accent when his real accent sounds close enough anyway. Also, hearing John Leguizamo sing was an example of "Don't quit your day job." He sounds almost as bad as I do when I sing karaoke, and I'm pretty sure even a garage band would have a better singer than him. His voice crackles whenever he hits the high notes. Being a baritone, I know what that's like. That's why I don't sing in a band. Plus, the "faking" of the guitar playing wasn't always convincing, even to someone who's never played guitar. And finally, the payoff to the subplot involving Leguizamo's character could've been a lot stronger. I'm not going to give away the twist involving his character, even though someone else on IMDb probably will. Other than those minor flaws, I really enjoyed the film. The cast is solid, though I'm sure Brittany Murphy was put in the movie simply to add star power. I don't hate Brittany as an actress, but a better, lesser-known actress could've played the role instead. The music is great as well. Thanks to Burns, I have two of the film's songs stuck in my head...but that's a good thing. He chose to use good songs from the 70's and 80's that weren't necessarily hits. If you're not a fan of Burns' work, this film probably won't change your mind. If you are a fan like me...enjoy the show.