‘Destination Wedding’ Says What Many Of Us Are Thinking

Fans of Keanu Reeves (John Wick) and Winona Ryder (Black Swan, Experimenter) must have been saying a prayer each night, asking for a reunion of the decades-long offscreen friends who haven’t been seen together on screen since The Private Lives of Pippa Lee in 2009. Before that, they starred together in A Scanner Darkly and, quite possibly their most famous pairing, in Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (way back in 1992). Fans prayers have been answered since Reeves and Ryder reunite in Destination Wedding, a romcom where they each represent very dysfunctional yet oh-so-relatable people who find themselves stuck with one another simply because neither wants to be at a destination wedding. And honestly, neither should have gone, but that’s obvious from the first act. It’s what happens after that matters.

Victor Levin, best known for his work behind the scenes on “Mad About You” and “Mad Men”, wrote and directed Destination Wedding. It conjures up memories of Before Sunrise, wherein two people meet and spend oodles of time talking about life. The big difference here is that this isn’t an overtly romantic meet-cute — far from it. And the characeters aren’t young and idealistic, full of hope for the future, and relishing romantic interludes. Frank (Reeves) and Lindsay (Ryder) are older, may be considered neurotic, hopeless, bitter, or just plain miserable. They’re not the people you’d want to invite to your wedding, should you desire it to be full of positive energy and free of snide comments on the impossibleness of a happy ending. As the script so clearly points out, a death of optimism has occurred in Frank and Lindsay’s lives. They don’t shy away from expressing as much, and are brutally honest about themselves and others. It’s refreshing, and more than once you’ll agree with what they say — even if you’re too afraid to admit it.

Destination Wedding is essentially one long conversation between two people over the course of three days. The other cast members are props; part of the production design that inject talking points but never engage. It’s better that way. You aren’t privy to anyone’s thoughts or feelings except those that matter in this story, and there’s no bloat because of it. The story knows where it wants to go and sticks to it. And amid all the cynicism and sarcastic remarks is a genuinely honest portrayal of how people of a certain age, who haven’t had the life they imagined or others thought they should, can become.

When you’re faced with remarks about life being a horrible experience, full of pressure, it’s hard to dismiss them as casual banter or punchy lines of dialogue to generate tension. People do think this way, and you may be one of them, or were at some point. Frank and Lindsay have issues, and it’s always a welcome surprise when a filmmaker decides to show troubled souls who don’t fit the prince and princess formula, and can’t be saved necessarily or changed (maybe they don’t want to be), navigate emotions and what it takes to make a connection with someone else. And how sometimes screaming “You’re fu**ing up” is necessary to get another person to listen (or at least take notice).

If you’re thinking Destination Wedding sounds terribly serious and like a total downer, you’re wrong. It’s quite funny throughout, as long as you can laugh with people who are blunt and tell it like it is. There’s no filter in Destination Wedding, and both Reeves and Ryder turn in fantastic performances. There is a comfortableness between the two and an easy chemistry. You’re drawn to them even as they express contempt towards one another (and you, as a member of society). Even the most awkward sex scene they have is somehow endearing — yea, that’s a spoiler, but you’ll never guess exactly what goes down (prepare yourself). 

Destination Wedding deserves a viewing if only to witness an alternative love story that’s raw, with frayed edges, that won’t leave you in tears but instead with a great big smile on your face when these real characters get their silent ending (as they should).