Jenny's Wedding feels like a social issue pamphlet

Movie:    Jenny's Wedding

PG-13, 1 hour 35 minutes

Grade:   C

In a Nutshell:   Timed perfectly for the recent Supreme Court decision that makes same sex marriage legal in the United States, this movie features the lovely Katherine Heigl as a lesbian who finally comes out to her family who struggle with who she is and what she wants.

Uplifting Theme:

·         “When you meet the right person, you go the distance.  And let me tell you about the distance.  Everybody changes.  If you’re with the right person, and they change, you meet the right person all over again.” – Eddie

Things I liked:

·         I liked the music by Brian Byrne.

·         The movie showed the pain and hurt that occur in families on both sides of this delicate issue. 

-     Gossip Girl: The Complete Series fans will be happy to see Alexis Bledel, although it may disturb some of them to see their favorite fast-talking teen kissing another woman. 

Things I didn’t like:

·     What bugs me is that religious people are always represented as idiots and bigots in most movies.  Sure, they definitely exist, but any other lifestyle, except a religious one, seems to always be considered "enlightened" in Hollywood.  A lot of the people in Jenny’s life really struggle with her newly exposed self.   That doesn’t mean they’re bad people or close-minded. The LGBT community demands tolerance, yet doesn't give any to those who have other values.   Jenny’s mom uses an analogy with a dance.  She explains that she likes dances with steps that she knows and that she simply doesn’t know the steps to this new dance that her daughter has introduced to her family. 

·         I thought Jenny’s sister is kind of a jerk.  In fact, I wouldn't particularly want to spend time with most of the characters in this movie.  They all seemed so self-centered and were more concerned with what their neighbors thought than showing love and support to one another.  There is so much anger and selfishness in Jenny’s family.  They all say terrible things to each other and only think of themselves.

·         If this is supposed to be a romantic comedy, it didn’t succeed at either one.
-    Jenny's sister, Anne, says "Happy people don't have dead grass", referring to not settling for things that don't make you happy.  I get that, but I also have a problem with that self-centered philosophy.  I mean, marriage is tough and there will be times when you want to walk away, but what about the "in sickness and health" part of the vow?  What good is getting married if you're just going to walk away when it gets hard?

Interesting lines:

·         “Being private isn’t the same thing as lying.” – Rose

·         “All you can do is what you do.” – Eddie    (I disagree.  We can always try to be better.)

·         “It’s bad to want her to be unhappy.”  - Eddie

“Why would we want her to be unhappy?” – Rose

“Because we are.” - Eddie

·         “If you spend your life lying to people about who you are, you never get to know who they really are.” – Denny

Tips for Parents:

*    There is some profanity and lesbian kissing.