Ceremony [DVD]

Features

• Type: DVD
• Studio: Alliance Films
• Language(s): english

The sweet-natured comedy Ceremony follows a slightly delusional young writer named Sam (Michael Angarano, Gentlemen Broncos), who's obsessed with a thirtysomething woman named Zoe (Uma Thurman). Unable to stop himself, Sam drags his shut-in friend Marshall (Reece Thompson, Rocket Science) along as he crashes Zoe's wedding to the wealthy but obnoxious Whit (Lee Pace, The Fall), where the two young misfits flounder, flirt, and fall apart amid the dysfunctional upper class. Ceremony owes a considerable debt to the movies of Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums), though it's more naturalistic, and fans of Anderson's work will find much to enjoy here: characters who walk a fine line between endearing and unbearable, a cascade of social collisions, gentle satire of upper-class and bohemian attitudes, and a quirky but excellent soundtrack. Writer-director Max Winkler doesn't quite hit the bull's-eye; for all his stylizations, Anderson's characters are always vivid and alive, while Winkler's characters feel a little forced. Still, by the end, Ceremony cultivates a melancholy charm. Angarano and Thompson dig into their roles with earnest glee--these promising young actors could give Shia LaBeouf a challenge. --Bret Fetzer