Father Of The Bride (DVD)

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Most of the film is laid-back, balmy, and engaging, but there are other moments that attempt to duplicate the frenetic spirit of old thirties screwball comedies. A reference to "Bringing Up Baby" is a clue; Martin indulging in slapstick and falling into his in-laws' swimming pool, then eventually winding up in jail are more such examples.

The old pop songs ("My Girl," "The Boy I'm Gonna Marry," "My Girl," etc.) are a little corny, and a couple of sequences verge on the self-consciously sentimental, but mostly "Father of the Bride" is a friendly and familiar romp. One could do worse.

Video:
The picture has been transferred to disc in an anamorphic widescreen ratio that measures very close to its theatrical-exhibition size of 1.85:1. Yet despite the use of a relatively high bit rate, the image quality is soft and very slightly blurred. There is a golden glow over many of the scenes, so I assume it was all meant to impart a fairy-tale atmosphere to the film. Colors are deep and vivid, if not always perfectly natural, with facial tones, especially, a bit too dark. Grain is generally a non factor except in certain scenes where it appears to come and go.

Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 remix does little for the rear channels beyond enhancing a touch of musical ambiance, and there remains a fairly narrow front-channel spread, so I'm not sure exactly what was done to improve things. Certainly, the sound is smooth, clean, and quiet, and the all-important midrange is most realistic and easy on the ears. Appropriate to the movie, the audio track is competent without being in any way flamboyant; it does not draw attention to itself.

Extras:
I'm afraid I couldn't get too interested in the few bonus items on the disc. There's a new audio commentary with cowriter and director Charles Shyer ("Irreconcilable Differences," "I Love Trouble," "Alfie") that is pleasant enough; a ten-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, "An Invitation to Father of the Bride," that is mostly promotional; and a five-minute bit where "Steve Martin & Martin Short Interview Each Other" that is cute. In addition, we get Sneak Peeks at several other Buena Vista titles; a mere fifteen scene selections, with a chapter insert; English and French spoken languages; and English captions for the hearing impaired. It doesn't appear to me that there's a very extensive lineup of extras to justify the designation "15th Anniversary Special Edition," but like the film the extras are at least inoffensive.

Parting Thoughts:
This 1991 update of "Father of the Bride" may not be quite as touching or as funny as the older version, but it is still lighthearted, gentle, sweet, frothy fun. While it tries too hard at times to be poignant and meaningful, overall it remains a heartwarming reminder of Hollywood's earlier days of happily-ever-after endings. Both films, old and new, are charmers, this new one was followed up by an equally successful sequel, "Father of the Bride Part II" (1995), which utilized almost the identical cast.

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