CEREMONY DVD (2011)

SYNOPSIS: Sam Davis (Michael Angarano) convinces his former best friend to spend a weekend with him to rekindle their friendship at an elegant beachside estate owned by a famous documentary filmmaker (Lee Pace). However, it soon becomes clear that Sam is secretly infatuated with his ex, Zoe (Uma Thurman), who is now the filmmaker's fiancée, and that his true intention is to thwart their impending nuptials. As Sam's plan begins to unravel, he is forced to realize how complicated love and friendship can be.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Max Winkler’s (son of Henry Winkler) debut film boasts the same quirky sensibility as Wes Anderson, though of course the young filmmaker has a long way to go before he reaches the same comedic maturity. The story of a young failing children’s book writer Sam (Michael Angarano) who crashes his older ex Zoe’s (Uma Thurman) wedding weekend in a foolish attempt to win her back, ‘Ceremony’ never quite finds its own groove, coming off as a wannabe that isn’t quite anything at all.

Indeed, Winkler’s attempt at aping Anderson is clear right from the beginning, as he casts Sam’s sensitive and articulate aspiring author from the same mould as ‘Rushmore’s’ Max Fischer. In the opening scene, Sam is seen reading his latest book to an audience of one- his best friend Marshall (Reece Thompson)- whom he tricks into spending a weekend in Long Island together to reconnect with each other. Sam’s real motive however is to rekindle the May-December romance with Zoe, again reminiscent of ‘Rushmore’s’ Fischer’s own with the older Rosemary Cross.

Taking a leaf from Noah Baumbach’s ‘Margot At the Wedding’ and Johnathan Demme’s ‘Rachel Getting Married’, most of the movie unfolds at the Long Island estate where Zoe is about to wed the anthropological documentary filmmaker Whit (Lee Pace), whose latest work was based on his year in Africa playing the stereotypical White saviour to the indigenous people. And like Whit, the rest of the film also deals with stereotypical characters- whether Zoe’s insecurities and contradictions, or her younger brother Teddy’s (Jake Johnson) alcoholism- so much so that they feel like replicas from another superior (and most probably) Anderson film.

Therein lies the problem with Winkler’s film- bittersweet comedies (or dramedies, as they are sometimes known) thrive on having characters we care about, characters we can identify with, and therefore share in their joys and sorrows. ‘Ceremony’ never manages to convince us why we should empathise with its characters- Sam just comes off as childish, naïve and towards the end, obnoxious; while Zoe wavers inconsistently between nonchalance and jealousy for Sam- nor their supposed love for each other, leaving you only with reason why Sam and Zoe are not suited for each other instead of the other way round.

Winkler’s saving grace lies in his actors. Thurman hasn’t had much luck in recent years with her career, her last good role in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’- but the actress, who turns 40 this year, still has plenty of charm and appeal as Zoe. Angarano does his best to make his character endearing, but is ultimately undone by Winkler’s scripting. Pace and Johnson both deserve more screen time, with the latter giving a surprisingly understated performance that is unfortunately crimped by a lack of character development.

They say imitation is the best form of flattery, and ‘Ceremony’ proves that saying right- though it highlights the genius behind Wes Anderson’s work through sheer contrast. Too derivative for its own good, Winkler’s debut shows that he has a long way to go to develop his own unique vision as a filmmaker, especially if he intends to continue making dramedies. Certainly he isn’t without promise- after all, executive producer Jason Reitman of ‘Juno’ and ‘Up in the Air’ must have seen something in him. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are 3 inconsequential ‘Deleted Scenes’ and another 2 mins worth of equally unsubstantial ‘Outtakes’. The ‘Extended Scene’ gives more time to Jake Johnson’s Teddy during his toasting speech, and for that alone, is worth a watch.

Otherwise, you may also opt for the ‘Making Of’, a 20-min featurette that starts off with director Max Wrinkler talking about the concept of the film and alternates between cast and director to explain a little more about the respective characters. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is almost nonexistent on the back speakers. Visuals are clear and sharp.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Gabriel Chong