Mother of the Bride (2024 film)

Mother of the Bride
Release poster
Directed by	Mark Waters
Written by	Robin Bernheim
Produced by	Brad Krevoy
Starring	Brooke Shields Miranda Cosgrove Benjamin Bratt
Cinematography	Ed Wu
Edited by	Travis Sittard
Music by	Caroline Ho
Production companies	Motion Picture Corporation of America Living Films
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	May 9, 2024 (2024-05-09)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

After spending a year working for Discovery Resorts in London, Emma Winslow is thrilled when her boyfriend RJ surprises her with a proposal. She gladly accepts but worries about how her mother, Lana, will react, as it has just been the two of them since her father passed away when she was eight.

In San Francisco, Lana Winslow, who leads a medical research lab, is surprised when Emma announces she won’t be going to grad school or job hunting but instead plans to start her own business. Emma explains she’ll receive a six-figure sponsorship for promoting Discovery and then shocks Lana further by revealing she’s getting married in a month at a resort in Phuket, Thailand. Once assured Emma is certain, Lana expresses her happiness for her daughter. The wedding costs are covered by Discovery in exchange for publicity.

In Thailand, Lana is joined by her best friend Janice and their Stanford friends, Scott and Clay, who recently married. Lana soon learns RJ is the son of Will Jackson, Scott’s brother and her ex-boyfriend from Stanford.

Before dinner with Emma, RJ, and Will, Lana confides in Emma that Will ghosted her after graduation, prompting her to change her number and move away to avoid being hurt again. A geneticist, Lana worries RJ might do the same to Emma, but Emma reassures her he won’t.

At dinner, Lana and Will agree to be matron-of-honor and best man. RJ thanks Lana for her cappuccino maker gift, while Will offers them his Tribeca condo. Later, Lana shares with Janice her insecurities about competing with Will. Meanwhile, Discovery’s brand manager, Camala, excludes Lana from much of the wedding planning to prioritize certain brands and designers.

Janice arranges a date for Lana with Lucas Campion, a doctor from LA, after he helps Will when Lana accidentally hits him in the groin during a pickleball game with their Stanford group. However, she does not stay for very long during the date. The next day, Camala shows Lana the flamboyant, black designer dress she is to wear in the wedding. She reluctantly agrees to it, feeling the brand manager is taking away the joy of the wedding by imposing plans to make it into an event.

As Lana is not included in that day's wedding plan, she and the Stanford group head out to a secluded island and go skinny dipping. As it is prohibited on hotel property, they get reprimanded. Camala threatens to pull funding for the wedding, so Emma accuses Lana of intentionally undermining the wedding and tells her to leave. Will overhears, so takes Lana on a ride to cheer her up. The jeep they take to the remote spot fails to start for their return, so they head down to the nearest beach to flag down a boat. There, they finally talk about their past and make peace.

As Emma regrets scolding Lana, RJ suggests she apologize. Realizing Will and Lana are missing, a resort employee leaves to fetch them via boat. They are disrupted just before they can kiss. On their return to the hotel, Lucas sees Will and Lana looking cozy together. So, he asks her to call if things don't work out with Will, and Lana reconciles with Emma. Emma then tells Camala that from now on, the wedding is going to run her way.

At the rehearsal dinner, Lana overhears Will talking to a woman named Katrina on the phone, saying he cannot live without her. Feeling déjà vu, she immediately distances herself from him. Emma feels there is something off about her mother, so she goes to her room. They talk, and Emma falls asleep next to her.

The next day, although Lana becomes overwhelmed and cries, the wedding ceremony runs smoothly. When Emma throws the bouquet, Lana dodges it, but Will catches it for her. Confronting her, he demands to know why she has been ignoring him. Lana asks Will about Katrina, who reveals that she is his secretary who had brought the original ring he had bought for Lana many years ago. Will proposes and, after a moment's hesitation, she happily accepts.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 13% of 48 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Mother of the Bride serves an oft-overlooked demographic and takes us to crystalline beaches before it ceremonially drowns in generic waters."^[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 39 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.^[8]

Benjamin Lee from The Guardian scored the film a two out of five, writing: "It's a slight cut above just how very bad these things can get, but not enough to edge it toward something that would deserve your full attention. So errand away, Mother of the Bride will be just fine playing in the background".^[9] Jennifer Green reviewing for Common Sense Media gave the film a score of three out of five.^[10]

Mother of the Bride (2024 film)

Plot

Cast

Production

Release

Reception

References

External links

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