Father of the Bride 2

Cast: Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Martin Short, Kieran Culkin, George Newborn and Kimberly Williams-Paisley

Director: Charles Shyer

Release Date: 1995

Running Time: 1hr 41 minutes

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Rating: PG

Synopsis:

George Banks is back again, this time Annie is expecting her first child, his wife is also unexpectedly pregnant.

George and Nina Banks are very happy and enjoying life, Annie and Brian are settled in their jobs and their new home when they announce they are gonna be parents. What parents wouldn't be happy? Here's the thing, Nina Banks is also expecting her third child at the same time. George must now cope with two pregnancies in the family. This movie is equally as heartwarming as the first, we've got the same wonderful characters back including little Matty (Culkin) and Frank (Martin Short) this time, employed to prepare the perfect nursery for Annie and Nina's baby's. Charles Shyer has chosen Steve Martin to narrate this film too. I think it adds a really nice touch to the movie.

George's reaction to Annie announcing she is pregnant is pretty much the same as to how he reacted to the news of the wedding in the first film. He certainly isn't too sure on being referred to as Grandpa. Matt also isn't too sure if he likes the idea of being an Uncle. George goes to the extreme to prove he's still young and wants to be a cool grandpa by going to the gym and dying his hair. Have grandparents really gone to these extremes in real life? The chemistry between George and Nina is just as good as it was the first time, Eugene Levy makes a pleasant return in this movie, however not as a wedding singer but as a pushy businessman who wants to buy their house. Does it get sold? Your gonna have to watch and find out. There are some truly heartwarming moments through out this film that make it equally as good as the first one.

Martin Short is just as good in this film as he was in the first one, his executive manager is just as funny too played wonderfully by BD Wong, who you might recognize from "Jurassic Park" it's safe to say he's come quite far in his career. The movie is beautifully shot and flows very nicely, although the first one is probably a little bit better looking then this one, the lighting adds to the tone of the film nicely, again choosing neutral colours and pastel colours for costume design and production design. The camera moves very nicely between shots and is very well edited.  A very funny scene to look out for involving Martin Short is watching him give Nina and Annie an aerobics class. Definitely something to look out for. Alan Silvestri is back once again with a beautiful score, not quite as good as the first one, but still very good, it still works beautifully alongside the film, once again there is a nice contemporary score too with names like Etta James and Steve  Tyrell.

Father of the Bride 2 is a beautiful and heartwarming film, I'm sure any woman who has ever had a baby can relate to this film on numerous amount of levels. Looking at the nursery in this film alone will fill your heart with love and joy. This is the perfect film to watch if your expecting, the ultimate chick flick. They really don't make movies like this anymore, this is definitely one to look out for, especially if you loved the first film. It's probably a good idea Charles Shyer chose to only make two films, because two are just enough.

5/5 stars