It’s so hard for me to believe that Beautiful Wedding could be based on any existing form of media. Its plot is so far-fetched and the mere existence of it boggles my mind. Yet here we are. A sequel to 2022’s Beautiful Disaster, itself an enigma of epic proportions, Beautiful Wedding is a follow up adaption of Jamie McGuire’s 2013 novel A Beautiful Wedding.
Taking place right where the previous film left off, Beautiful Wedding sees the fearless heroes of the story, Abby (Virginia Gardner) and Travis (Dylan Sprouse), as they wake up from a turbulent and incredibly drunk night in Las Vegas with friends Shepley and America. The pair find out that in their drunken stupor they’ve gotten married. In addition, Benny, played once again by Rob Estes, is after them for money they owe.
Instead of doing the smart thing and getting a quick annulment (which the film justifies by saying “How many couples actually survive an annulment?”), the four hitch a sketchy helicopter ride to Mexico at a strange resort with no other guests it seems.
Beautiful Wedding feels as if it was written by a room full of “college bros” who, after a hard night of Natty Lights, decided to write a movie with every absurd fantasy they’ve ever thought of with zero consequences. From chicken fights in hotel rooms to an animated penis and fully animated fight scene on a nude beach and abandoning a romantic dinner to watch ESPN with your bro. It is truly one of the wildest movie experiences I’ve ever had.
Gardner and Sprouse continue to be one of the most unlikeable couples on screen in this film. Constant bickering broken up only by intense makeout sessions and unnecessarily over-the-top sex scenes really only works once guys. And, in the end, I was appalled at how swiftly the film just ignores the blatant psychological abuse on both parties (but especially of Cole’s Travis) to deliver a “happy ending”. As if the only happy ending a movie of this caliber can have is when the credits roll.
In fact, the only character who really gets a proper ending is Benny, the film’s villain who’s quest for his money is abandoned halfway through the film. As with many of the ideas that Beautiful Wedding presents. Storylines are picked up and dropped faster than a game of hot potato in an elementary school gym class.
I will say, though, that for all the film’s faults, it’s fun. It’s a crazy, over-the-top, why-in-the-hell-am-I-watching-this sort of fun. But fun nonetheless.
Final Thoughts
Beautiful Wedding is the perfect movie for when you’ve got your buddies over, you’re having a few beers, and you want to put something on to laugh at. It was seemingly made for that sole purpose. If that’s not you, then there’s really no reason to watch this movie. You won’t find anything of substance in it anyways.
