Rachel Getting Married

This weekend Mark was away so it was the perfect opportunity to rent a TON of movies. I got to see “Changeling” and “Rachel Getting Married” with two friends during a very late night involving junk food. Two heavy movies for a girls' night, but it worked. And then I also saw “The Other Boleyn Girl,” “Definitely Maybe,” “Penelope,” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Lots of different genres…that’s a good weekend.

“Rachel Getting Married” was the standout to me in this collection. This was Anne Hathaway’s first Oscar-nominated role and let me say, rightfully so. I’ve only ever seen her play the good girl. In this she plays Kim, a recovering addict who comes home for her sister’s wedding. It was almost more of a study on family, rather than a story. There was no heroine or villain in this movie. I could feel pain for each character, and I also felt angry at each character at different times. It was very raw…from the awkward rehearsal dinner toast, to the mother’s withdrawal from her own daughters, to the dad trying desperately to hold his family together, to Rachel one minute hating her sister, but the next minute caring for her as only a sister can. Anne Hathaway was perfection. She’s an actress for the ages in my book.

As a side note, I also really enjoyed the uniqueness of the wedding and the eclectic group of friends throughout the movie. Also, the wedding musicians were always around the house, practicing for the big event, but that provided the movie soundtrack. It was pretty cool.