Taglines: To have and to hold… ‘Til dads do us part.
Marcus Boyd (Lance Gross), a young African-American, has recently graduated from Columbia Medical School and is headed to Laos for a year to work with Doctors Without Borders. Unbeknownst to their respective parents, Marcus and his fiance Lucia Ramirez (America Ferrera), who is Mexican-American, have been living together and would like to get married before they both head off to Laos together.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Marcus’ father Brad (Forest Whittaker) is coming out of a “meeting” when he sees his car being towed by Miguel (Carlos Mencia), who happens to be Lucia’s father. Brad tries unsuccessfully to halt the tow by holding on to the door of his car. Both Miguel and Brad hurl various racially-based insults at one another. Brad and Miguel meet later that evening and discover that they will soon be in-laws. Both Marcus’ and Lucia’s family try to out do one another to make the wedding more African-American or Mexican-American, with comedic results.
Described as a clash-of-cultures comedy, the story centers on two overbearing fathers (Whitaker, Mencia) who must put aside their differences to plan the wedding of their son and daughter (Ferrera) in less than two weeks.
“Our marriage, their wedding.” It’s lesson number one for any newly engaged couple, and Lucia (America Ferrera) and Marcus (Lance Gross) are no exception. In Fox Searchlight Pictures’ ‘Our Family Wedding’ they learn the hard way that the path to saying “I do” can be rife with familial strife. When they return from college and too suddenly announce their marriage plans, they soon discover that their fathers–two highly competitive over-the-top egos – can wreak a major amount of havoc on their special day.
With insults flying and tempers running high, it’s anyone’s guess if the alpha dads (Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia) will survive to make it down the aisle in one piece. Lucia’s mother (Diana Maria Riva) is busy planning the wedding of “her” dreams and the only levelheaded one in the bunch is Angela (Regina King), the groom’s father’s best friend and lawyer, who manages to keep her cool when the madness reaches a crescendo. With only weeks to plan their wedding, Lucia and Marcus soon discover the true meaning of love and find there is truth to the saying–that when you marry someone, you marry their entire family.
Our Family Wedding (2010)
Directed by: Rick Famuyiwa
Starring by: Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia, Regina King, Lance Gross, Charlie Murphy, Shondrella Avery, Diana Maria Riva, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Charlie Murphy, Lupe Ontiveros
Screenplay by: Rick Famuyiwa
Production Design by: Linda Burton
Cinematography by: Julio Macat
Film Editing by: Dirk Westervelt
Costume Design by: Hope Hanafin
Set Decoration by: Gia Grosso
Art Direction by: Colin De Rouin, Christopher M. Ridino
Music by: Transcenders
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sexual content and brief strong language.
Distributed by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: March 12, 2010