The Wedding is a 2023 film from Lust Cinema. Conceived and directed by the studio's head honcho and queen of "ethical porn", Erika Lust, it was written by Sally Fenaux Barleycorn and Edwin Osborne.
As you may suspect from the title, the film is centred around the wedding of Diana (Nicole Kitt) and Lucas (Dante Colle). The wedding planner Sophie (Romy Furie) is rushing around getting things organised, the laid-back photographer Lexi (Jade Kush) is taking snaps of the guests, and the musician Mick (Jason Steel) isn't quite what Sophie was expecting. Still, on the whole it seems to be going well.
That is until the groom's mother Jenna (Andi James) shows up. Lucas hasn't talked with her in a year, and the couple are keeping a secret from her. Tensions run high as Jenna seems incredibly hostile towards Diana, and says that Lucas's new friends are strange. Which is a bit rich coming from her, who looks totally out of place, dressed as if she's attending a funeral.
From the start, it is obvious that this was a big production, even by Erika Lust's standards. In fact, it is said to be her biggest budget film yet, even receiving a red carpet premiere. The story is not particularly original, but is reasonably entertaining.
However, although Nicole Kitt's acting is superb, most of the other performances are incredibly stilted. Perhaps this is in part due to many of the actors seeming to struggle with the English language. Indeed, although I typically do not have a whole lot of trouble understanding foreign accents, much of the dialogue in this film is sadly unintelligible, which isn't helped by the music being too loud at times.
There is also excessive use of fisheye lenses, which distort the sides of the image and can be somewhat headache inducing. Such lenses do have a time and place, but should be used sparingly.
All in all, this film aims high and succeeds in much, but fails in some rather basic aspects. Although I applaud the hard work that went into this film, it's unfortunately one I have mixed feelings about.
★★★☆☆ 3/5