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The Groomsmen (2006)
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Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:17
Rotten:15
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: Director and star Burns returns to his home turf -- dialogue-driven examinations of the relationships between men and women -- with uneven results.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for pervasive language and brief nudity
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Jul 14, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: In the same vein as Edward Burns's previous films (THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN, SHE'S THE ONE), THE GROOMSMEN explores the difference between getting older and growing up. Written, directed by, and... In the same vein as Edward Burns's previous films (THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN, SHE'S THE ONE), THE GROOMSMEN explores the difference between getting older and growing up. Written, directed by, and starring Burns, the film takes place in the days leading up to the wedding of Long Island-born Paulie (Burns). Joining Paulie for a week of alcohol-soaked bonding prior to the big day are his older brother Jimbo (Donal Logue), local buddy Des (Matthew Lillard), Cousin Mike (Jay Mohr), and long-absent childhood friend T.C. (John Leguizamo). While Paulie deals with a classic case of cold feet in anticipation of marrying his pregnant fiancé (Brittany Murphy), his groomsmen are inspired to deal with demons of their own. T.C.'s arrival, along with the pressures of seeing a close friend settle down, prompts much self-examination as old bonds are tested and new truths revealed. While the simple story here is pretty familiar territory, things are kept fresh thanks to an authentic sense of location and stellar performances by Jay Mohr as the perpetually childlike Mike (who at age 33, still lives at home with his father), and by Matthew Lillard as family guy Des, the one character in the film who seems to have come to grips with his own adulthood. Through extensive conversation over drinks, and physical squabbles at the softball diamond, these five friends grapple with one question: what makes a man a man? Pondering the question of why males nowadays put off the so-called marks of adulthood that their fathers achieved straight out of high school, THE GROOMSMEN offers more than one answer. [More]
Starring: Edward Burns, John Leguizamo, Brittany Murphy, John Mahoney
Starring: Edward Burns, John Leguizamo, Brittany Murphy, John Mahoney, Heather Burns, Jessica Capshaw, Matthew Lillard, Donal Logue, Jay Mohr
Director: Edward Burns
Director: Edward Burns
Producer: Margot Bridger, Philippe Martinez
Studio: Bauer Martinez Studios
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Reviews for The Groomsmen
A standard big-weekend-where- friends-gather-and- everyone-has- a-secret movie.
Writer/director Ed Burns adds a droopy fourth chapter to his Irish-American working class films...
You have to suffer through a lot of down time in The Groomsmen to get to the good stuff.
It appears that as a filmmaker Burns is having as much difficulty maturing as his characters do.
The revelations aren't all that surprising and the build-up isn't all that interesting. At least not as interesting as watching Lillard, of all people, persuasively playing the most evolved and serene of this clique.
Ed Burns repeats himself in his familiar territory about people who are young and stupid.
Instead of whimsy there's nastiness, and instead of promising newcomers there's a cluster of formerly hot actors gone cold.
Burns tackles stunted adolescence through the filter of mushy seriocomic melodrama.
It has been a dozen years since The Brothers McMullen, yet Burns still has no clue how to make movies.
As time goes by, the supposedly everyday middleclass lifestyles effortlessly enjoyed by his regular Joes begin to seem suspiciously like the province of the idle rich.
Burns remains an enigma: After six features, it's still impossible to tell if he's a filmmaker with something to say or merely one of the longest-running novelty acts in modern movies.
The problem is that Burns -- who insists on writing all his own material -- isn't a very good writer.
The problem with Ed Burns' films is that the growth of the male characters...has been limited by a strict interpretation of what it means to be man.
The Groomsmen, while as corny as a Staten Island marriage proposal, rings true on many levels.
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