Themes: Fathers and Daughters, Eccentric Families, Wedding Bells
Main Cast: Alan Alda, Madeline Kahn, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Anthony LaPaglia
Release Year: 1990
Country: US
Run Time: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Offbeat fashion student Betsy Hopper (Molly Ringwald) and her straight-laced investment-banker fiancé, Jake Lovell(Dylan Walsh), just want an intimate little wedding reception, but Betsy's father, Eddie (Alan Alda), a Long Island construction contractor, feels so threatened by Jake's rich WASP parents (Nicolas Coster and Bibi Besch) that he blows the ceremony up into a bank-breaking showpiece, sending his wife, Lola (Madeline Kahn), into a financial panic. Pressure from Betsy's extended family to include their joint Jewish and Italian-Catholic heritage in the ceremony doesn't do much to assuage the title character's worries, nor does the lovelorn bitterness of her older sister, Connie (Ally Sheedy), who's single, her parents assume, because she has the audacity to pursue the unfeminine profession of police officer. With all of his funds tied up into the money pit of a house he's building, Betsy's dad has to turn to his crooked brother-in-law, Oscar (Joe Pesci), for financial assistance, and soon a soft-spoken but menacing young mobster named Stevie Dee (Anthony LaPaglia) is supervising Eddie's construction project and casting his romantic aspirations toward the clueless Connie. Underworld hijinks and unconventional matrimonial practices ensue in this broad domestic comedy written and directed by star Alan Alda. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Joe Pesci - Oscar Henner; Joey Bishop - Eddie's Father; Dylan Walsh - Jake Lovell; Catherine O'Hara - Gloria Henner; Burt Young - Georgie; Nicolas Coster - Henry Lovell; Bibi Besch - Nancy Lovell; Larry Block - Barber; Julie Bovasso - Grandma; Sully Boyar - Morris, Lola's Dad; Thomas John Caligiuri - Man at Wedding; Monica Carr - Joy; William Duff-Griffin - Caterer; Frankie R. Faison - Zack Monroe; Helen Hanft - Fitter; Samuel L. Jackson - Taxi Dispatcher; J.K. Loftin - Bandleader; Tom Mardirosian - Dave Delahees; Paul B. Mixon - Plumber; Janet Pasquale - Georgie's Companion; Camille Saviola - Angelica; Mario Todisco - Anselmo, the Bodyguard; Allan Rich - Nate Tobias
Credit
Andrew Moore - Art Director, Martin Bregman - Co-producer, Louis A. Stroller - Co-producer, Mary Malin - Costume Designer, Alan Alda - Director, Michael Polakow - Editor, Bruce Broughton - Composer (Music Score), Jeff Barry - Songwriter, Ellie Greenwich - Songwriter, Jack Hues - Songwriter, Van Morrison - Songwriter, David Rose - Songwriter, Phil Spector - Songwriter, Barbra Streisand - Songwriter, Jimmy Van Heusen - Songwriter, Paul Williams - Songwriter, Peter Wolf - Songwriter, David Young - Songwriter, Jeff Goodwin - Makeup, John J. Moore - Production Designer, Kelvin Pike - Cinematographer, Barbara Kahn - Set Designer, Greg Hull - Special Effects, Frank Ferrara - Stunts, Don Hewitt, Sr. - Stunts, Alan Alda - Screenwriter, Sammy Cahn - Featured Music, George Gershwin - Featured Music, Ira Gershwin - Featured Music, Harry Warren - Featured Music
While the film was not critically well-received (with comments such as "threadbare concoction"[1], "narcissism flourishing like ragweed" and "unctuous"[2] peppering the reviews), it has been cited as launching the movie career of Anthony LaPaglia.[3]
