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Table 19 wants to masquerade as an anthem for those who hate or reject weddings, but ultimately falls victim to its own ambitions and becomes a film that embraces them. Had the 'quirky' characters in this film been written with a bit more care and attention, it could have been quite enjoyable, but instead it just misses the mark and falls into the "could have been" category of movies. This could have been funny, it could have been heartfelt and it could have been great.
Eloise has dropped out of being the maid of honour at her best friends wedding. Yet, she still accepts the invitation and finds herself sitting at table 19, aka the 'randoms'. At her table is a couple whose marriage is a broken shell of what it use to be, an elderly woman who use to babysit the bride and her brother when they were kids, a young kid who is desperately trying to get laid and an awkward fellow who just got out of prison. Would anyone at the wedding notice if the entire table decided to just leave? Will these outcasts find common ground and become friends? And will we find out why Eloise decided to drop out of the wedding party but still show up to the wedding anyway?
The film takes place at one location for an entire day. Throughout the day we get a sense of each character at this table, with some attention given more to some than others. Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson play the married couple. They seem to fight a lot and according to her, not love each other anymore. Their dynamic works here. We have two people here who are used to being funny, but here are just mean to each other. This gives the roles a bit of added realism. They are the only people that felt real in the entire film.
June Squibb does a really good job of earning pity from the audience. Here's an elderly lady trying to hold onto the hope that she is not at a 'random' table and that the baby girl she babysat still remembers her and cares about her. Her protective nature shifts to Eloise during the night and they share some tender moments between them which leads to a heartwarming piece at the end of the film. Eloise is played by Anna Kendrick, who is starting to become the type of actress where they just end of playing themselves in every role. I didn't see anything different here than every other film she has done.
Finally, the last two people at the table are Stephen Merchant and Tony Revolori. Revolori does a good job making a stereotypical character likeable. He just needed more to do than trying to get laid the entire time. Merchant is awkward here and a lot of his jokes do not land. His character needed to be explored a bit more. In fact, every character needed more screen time to flesh out who they are. We are given a generic one note character, then have one scene with some sort of sad backstory for each and quickly move on. A lot of the writing for these characters felt rushed. If the film had taken its time with them, we could have really fleshed out and a well rounded table of characters. A lot of the focus is one Kendrick and everyone else feels like a supporting character to her, this should have been a bit more of an ensemble piece.
The film has some funny moments, but for the most part it's a melancholy of sadness. Table 19 tries to reject the notion of happiness forever, but then does a 180 near the end and falls into some typical cliches one could expect from a film like this. It could have taken more chances, done something a little more daring and surprise the audience. It does not.
Table 19
(Jeffrey Blitz)
(Jeffrey Blitz)
Table 19 wants to masquerade as an anthem for those who hate or reject weddings, but ultimately falls victim to its own ambitions and becomes a film that embraces them. Had the 'quirky' characters in this film been written with a bit more care and attention, it could have been quite enjoyable, but instead it just misses the mark and falls into the "could have been" category of movies. This could have been funny, it could have been heartfelt and it could have been great.
Eloise has dropped out of being the maid of honour at her best friends wedding. Yet, she still accepts the invitation and finds herself sitting at table 19, aka the 'randoms'. At her table is a couple whose marriage is a broken shell of what it use to be, an elderly woman who use to babysit the bride and her brother when they were kids, a young kid who is desperately trying to get laid and an awkward fellow who just got out of prison. Would anyone at the wedding notice if the entire table decided to just leave? Will these outcasts find common ground and become friends? And will we find out why Eloise decided to drop out of the wedding party but still show up to the wedding anyway?
The film takes place at one location for an entire day. Throughout the day we get a sense of each character at this table, with some attention given more to some than others. Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson play the married couple. They seem to fight a lot and according to her, not love each other anymore. Their dynamic works here. We have two people here who are used to being funny, but here are just mean to each other. This gives the roles a bit of added realism. They are the only people that felt real in the entire film.
June Squibb does a really good job of earning pity from the audience. Here's an elderly lady trying to hold onto the hope that she is not at a 'random' table and that the baby girl she babysat still remembers her and cares about her. Her protective nature shifts to Eloise during the night and they share some tender moments between them which leads to a heartwarming piece at the end of the film. Eloise is played by Anna Kendrick, who is starting to become the type of actress where they just end of playing themselves in every role. I didn't see anything different here than every other film she has done.
Finally, the last two people at the table are Stephen Merchant and Tony Revolori. Revolori does a good job making a stereotypical character likeable. He just needed more to do than trying to get laid the entire time. Merchant is awkward here and a lot of his jokes do not land. His character needed to be explored a bit more. In fact, every character needed more screen time to flesh out who they are. We are given a generic one note character, then have one scene with some sort of sad backstory for each and quickly move on. A lot of the writing for these characters felt rushed. If the film had taken its time with them, we could have really fleshed out and a well rounded table of characters. A lot of the focus is one Kendrick and everyone else feels like a supporting character to her, this should have been a bit more of an ensemble piece.
The film has some funny moments, but for the most part it's a melancholy of sadness. Table 19 tries to reject the notion of happiness forever, but then does a 180 near the end and falls into some typical cliches one could expect from a film like this. It could have taken more chances, done something a little more daring and surprise the audience. It does not.