The People We Hate at the Wedding is the dysfunctional family comedy that brings the laughs ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend.

Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin and Wendy Molyneux’s script is based on Grant Ginder’s bestselling novel of the same name. Every family has their flaws–whether we choose to admit it in front of our friends or not–but this film takes flaws to the next level. In this comedy, you have siblings who do not have the best relationship with each other. What happens when you pair all three of them together for a wedding overseas in England? In short, it’s a recipe for disaster and I love it!

Shortly after the film’s cold open sets the scene, we meet the grown-up Alice (Kristen Bell) and Paul (Ben Platt) upon learning their half-sister Eloise (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) invited them to her wedding. For the duo, it’s not just bad enough that it’s going to be the perfect wedding. It’s the fact that they have to see Eloise when their relationship with each other is estranged. To them, she has the perfect life whereas, they have feelings of both jealousy and resentment. If not for their mother, Donna (Allison Janney), the two siblings wouldn’t even make the trip. But as they say, anything that can happen in a dysfunctional family comedy will happen in a dysfunctional family comedy. I mean, it does not help when you add alcohol into the mix.

This is the sort of comedy that it is best going into the film knowing as very little as possible. Part of the film also works as a romantic comedy–without all the tropes–but this family has a way of making bad decisions. For those of you needing a vacation, it offers one of the best ways to see London and the English countryside from the comfort of your couch. No offense to my British readership familiar with these sites. All in all, this is a film that I didn’t want to end. If I had my way, I would be spending more time with these characters!

Claire Scanlon comes from a comedy and editing background. It’s been a few years since the release of Set It Up on Netflix but she gets great performances from the cast. I mean, this is a film with Allison Janney, Kristen Bell, Ben Platt, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson. You cannot go wrong with these performers!

Dysfunctional family comedies can be a recipe for disaster but The People We Hate at the Wedding brings the laughs.

DIRECTOR: Claire Scanlon
SCREENWRITERS: Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin and Wendy Molyneux
CAST: Allison Janney, Kristen Bell, Ben Platt, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Dustin Milligan, Isaach De Bankolé, Karan Soni, Tony Goldwyn, Jorma Taccone, Julian Ovenden, and John McMillan

Prime Video will release The People We Hate at the Wedding on November 18, 2022. Grade: 4/5

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