This ostensibly lighthearted film about Spencer Tracy's Kafkaesque attempts to bring off his daughter's wedding is one of the bleakest films of a bleak decade.
Father of the Bride
You're invited... to a hilarious wedding!
1950 · 1h 32m · Not Rated
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Directed by
Vincente Minnelli
Free account saves your watchlist and ratings.
Father of the Bride
Overview
Proud father Stanley Banks remembers the day his daughter, Kay, got married. Starting when she announces her engagement through to the wedding itself, we learn of all the surprises and disasters along the way.
Director and cast
- Vincente Minnelli Director
- Spencer Tracy as Stanley T. Banks
- Joan Bennett as Ellie Banks
- Elizabeth Taylor as Katherine 'Kay' Banks
- Don Taylor as Buckley Dunstan
- Billie Burke as Doris Dunstan
- Leo G. Carroll as Mr. Massoula
- Moroni Olsen as Herbert Dunstan
- Melville Cooper as Mr. Tringle
- Taylor Holmes Cast
- Paul Harvey Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
On the critical side: Minnelli could have timed many of the scenes so that laughs would not have stepped on dialog tag lines.
Thoroughly enchanting comedy about the trials and tribulations a middle-aged family man faces when the daughter he dotes on decides to get married.
A honey of a picture of American family life.
Under Vincente Minelli's crisp direction, the fun rarely lets up.
More films
Father of the Bride (1991)
Comedy · Family · PG
George Banks is an ordinary, middle-class man whose 22 year-old daughter Annie has decided to marry a man from an upper-class family, but George can't think of what life would be like without his daughter. His wife tries to make him happy for Annie, but when the wedding takes place at their home and a foreign wedding planner takes over...
- Runtime
- 1h 45m
- Director
- Charles Shyer
- Cast
- Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Meet the Parents (2000)
Comedy · Romance · PG-13
Greg Focker is ready to marry his girlfriend, Pam, but before he pops the question, he must win over her formidable father, humorless former CIA agent Jack Byrnes, at the wedding of Pam's sister. As Greg bends over backward to make a good impression, his visit to the Byrnes home turns into a hilarious series of disasters, and everythin...
- Runtime
- 1h 48m
- Director
- Jay Roach
- Cast
- Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo
Meet the Fockers (2004)
Comedy · Romance · PG-13
Hard-to-crack ex-CIA man Jack Byrnes and his wife Dina head for the warmer climes of Florida to meet the parents of their son-in-law-to-be, Greg Focker. Unlike their happily matched offspring, the future in-laws find themselves in a situation of opposites that definitely do not attract.
- Runtime
- 1h 55m
- Director
- Jay Roach
- Cast
- Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Crime · Drama · Thriller · R
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as...
- Runtime
- 1h 59m
- Director
- Jonathan Demme
- Cast
- Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn
Philadelphia (1993)
Drama · PG-13
Two lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.
- Runtime
- 2h 6m
- Director
- Jonathan Demme
- Cast
- Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Mystery · Thriller · R
Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad-mate Sergeant Raymond Shaw, now a vice-presidential candidate, is the hero he remembers him being. As Marco's doubts deepen, Shaw's political power grows, and, when Marco finds a mys...
- Runtime
- 2h 10m
- Director
- Jonathan Demme
- Cast
- Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Documentary · Music · PG
A concert film documenting Talking Heads at the height of their popularity, on tour for their 1983 album "Speaking in Tongues." The band takes the stage one by one and is joined by a cadre of guest musicians for a career-spanning and cinematic performance that features creative choreography and visuals.
- Runtime
- 1h 28m
- Director
- Jonathan Demme
- Cast
- David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison
Something Wild (1986)
Comedy · Crime · Romance · R
A free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-con husband shows up.
- Runtime
- 1h 54m
- Director
- Jonathan Demme
- Cast
- Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, Ray Liotta











Comments
Talk about the film with other members