Ceremony (2011)
Average Rating: 4.9/10
Reviews Counted: 33
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 20
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 4.6/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 8
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.8/5
User Ratings: 2,171
My Rating
Movie Info
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). But it soon becomes clear that Sam is secretly infatuated with the filmmaker's fiancée, Zoe (Uma Thurman), 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.--(c) Magnolia
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Cast
-
Michael Angarano
Sam, Sam Davis -
Uma Thurman
Zoe -
Reece Daniel Thompson
Marshall, Marshall Schm... -
Lee Pace
Whit, Whit Coutell -
Jake M. Johnson
Teddy -
Brooke Bloom
Margaret Cornish -
Harper Dill
Carol Archer -
Rebecca Mader
Esme Ball -
Nathalie Love
Blonde Maid -
Charlie Moss
Nico Spicer -
Lisby Larson
Nina Pileggi -
Paul Amodeo
Bruce Singer -
Philip Carlson
Butler -
Catherine Russell
Party Guest #4 -
Jack Koenig
Party Guest #5 -
Jerrin Holt
African Man -
Von Jeff
Von
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Ceremony Trailer & Photos
All Critics (33) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (20) | DVD (2)
Yes, it's been done before (and better). But Uma lends it a sly and sexy spark.
Top CriticThe contradictory elements stack up at the same time your interest in the characters dwindles.
The offbeat comedy is not entirely devoid of charm, but its derivativeness is almost embarrassing.
Does Uma Thurman perpetually underestimate herself, or is Quentin Tarantino the only filmmaker who appreciates her?
Young Winkler needs to learn that simply instructing characters to smirk and look ironic is not enough; you actually have to come up with funny things for them to say.
If the scenario is unconvincing, debuting writer-director Max Winkler has a feel for the dynamics of this kind of ritualized yet informal social gathering, and his affection for his characters is clear.
This marriage for profit story featuring a delusional wedding crasher is neither romantic nor funny.
Zoe's heartfelt declaration 'I can't be your mermaid,' succinctly sums up the entire situation.
It's only funny because its putrid dialogue is so unfunny that it drags flies.
More interested in melancholy wryness than belly laughs, and the low-key results have a pleasant fizz. [Blu-ray]
Doesn't offer anything worth the time invested, issuing derivative characters and tuneless situations of longing coated with an ineffective layer of crooked whimsy that often acts like salt in the wound.
Well acted, with plenty of color around its edges, Ceremony too often dawdles and dissembles when it should be digging deeper. Still, the performances make it connect, even though Winkler seems to have an aversion to catharsis.
[Angarano] and Thurman have scenes of such honesty and raw emotional energy that it's almost possible to forgive "Ceremony" its sometimes sluggish pacing and its peevish protagonist. Almost, but not quite.
In "Ceremony," a Wes Anderson impersonator attempts a version of "Wedding Crashers," and it's about as bad as you might think.
In the end, Ceremony shows occasional promise but mostly pretense. But at least it knows when to wrap up the party and go home.
While Ceremony may not look or feel terribly original, Winkler has clearly learned a lot from his study of [Wes] Anderson's oeuvre, and he's made a comedy that's intelligent, stylish, and effective even when it's emulating someone else's work.
Ceremony isn't spectacularly original, but it's a proficient breakthrough that manages to make its familiarity charming.
Winkler directs with a borrowed sense of assurance.
Winkler's writing works too hard to achieve the frothy quality that he attempts.
Although unquestionably indebted to its influences, writer-director Max Winkler's feature comedy debut has more than enough heart to overcome its familiar ingredients.
Audience Reviews for Ceremony
Director: Max Winkler
Summary: Michael Angarano stars in this indie comedy as Sam, a naïve twentysomething who falls head over heels in love with Zoe (Uma Thurman), a beautiful older woman who's about to marry a pretentious documentary filmmaker (Lee Pace). Refusing to give up hope, Sam drags his best friend (Reece Thompson) to the seaside town where the wedding is set to take place in a last-ditch attempt to head off the nuptials.
My Thoughts: "I absolutely loved this movie. It was so quirky and the character's are so greatly done. Michael Angarano and Reece Daniel Thompson are fantastic in the movie. They had such an easy flow with each other which made their character's even better. The script is smart and maybe not original but definitely well written and greatly executed on screen. Sam, who comes off very confident and sure of himself has dragged his deeply depressed best friend, Marshall, who he hasn't spoken to in a year, off on a weekend get away. Marshall is under the assumption it was a trip for them to spend time together, not knowing the trip is in fact for Sam to try and woo his lady back. The relationship between Marshall and Sam is odd and very entertaining. As the story unfolds the dynamic between Marshall and Sam change. They unknowingly switch roles with each other. I found the movie refreshing and loved every minute of it. Lee Pace definitely demands the screen in every scene he's in. Uma Thurman does justice to her role and doesn't over do it. Just a great quirky comedy that I will have to see again."
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I was glad I stuck it out, though, as this was quite a nice story about the one that got away. The ending wasn't really obvious (even at the ending there was a little left to your own imagination), and it just had really good characters. More like an indie film that the chick flick it appears to be. Maybe that's why the low rating.