Father of the Bride

Delightful MGM comedy from Hollywood's Golden Age. It's going to be a great wedding if can Dad survive it. But every time he thinks he's paid the last expense another one arrives. Sure, he's a prosperous attorney, still the plans just keep growing and growing, as do his humorous frustrations. But then, who wants to disappoint sweetly loving daughter Kay (Taylor), even if her intended, Buckley (Don Taylor), wants to spend their honeymoon in the sub-Arctic for salmon fishing! Now there's every girl's post- matrimonial dream. Good thing Mom (Bennett) furnishes solid family support as the wedding plans totter along.

All in all, the flick's a Tracy showcase. His brand of grouchy humor is perfect for the beseiged Dad; after all, will his patience give out before his wallet does. It's an 18-year old Taylor as the bouncy ingenue, some distance from her feisty, more mature roles, but awesomely pretty nonetheless. And get a load of that over-whelming crowd stampeding the wedding reception - will Dad survive. Good thing it's the stalwart Tracy. I guess my only reservation is that weird dream sequence that just drops into the middle part, too surreal and off-putting, to combine with the humorous flow. Good thing it soon passes.

Overall, I think the movie captures the spirit of the times when post-war prosperity was overtaking Depression era thrift as Dad struggles to adjust to expanding expectations. So catch up with it if you can. It's Tracy at his gruffly humorous best.