FATHER OF THE BRIDE, PART II. Directed by Charles Shyer; written by Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer; produced by Nancy Meyers for Touchstone. Starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton and Kimberly Williams. Rated PG.
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Father of the Bride, Part II works on all the same themes of its successful predecessor—dad's reluctance to acknowledge that his darling daughter's a woman (both because he wants her to stay a little girl and because her growing up means he's getting older, too); mom's level-headed acceptance of daughter's changes and husband's craziness; and the way such simple life changes as marriages and births can turn our whole world topsy-turvy.
Martin as Dad and Keaton as Mom are just as appealing and entertaining here as in the first movie. Martin's physical reaction comedy is a perfect fit with his character, who reacts extravagantly to all the curves he's thrown in the picture. I mean, who wouldn't freak out at the prospect of becoming a father and a grandfather at the same time? Martin is a master at capturing both the hysteria and the warmth of feeling that such a situation would stimulate.
Martin Short's outrageous designer character from the first movie returns here, in only slightly contrived circumstances (he gives a joint baby shower and supervises the remodeling of the "baby suite"). He's quite funny in small doses, but such a flamboyant character could easily weigh the whole movie down if overused. And going by the trailers for the movie, you might fear that he has a major role. But, fortunately, the script uses him only sparingly.
There was a sequel to the Spencer Tracy Father of the Bride movie, too, called Father's Little Dividend, which was obviously not as successful as the original movie. This one may end up being as popular as its predecessor.
January 10, 1996