Grumpy guests bicker, bond in new rom-com 'Destination Wedding'
Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder reunite on-screen for the third time in "Destination Wedding," the unconventional romantic comedy that accurately captures the beginning of a relationship: awkward and occasionally off-putting.
In the movie, which opens Friday at Chicago's AMC River East and on demand, Frank (a pessimistic intellectual played by Reeves) and Lindsay (a heartbroken optimist played by Ryder) meet at a wedding they probably shouldn't have attended. In the picturesque wine region of Paso Robles, California, they butt heads and bond over existential conversations about the horrors of traveling, the narcissism of weddings and the unlikelihood of love.
Writer-director Victor Levin chats about what it's like to craft an unsentimental rom-com. The following conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Q. Why the aversion to destination weddings?
A. I'm happy to go and honored to be invited, but there's a certain self-importance to it, is there not? It'd be one thing if you had to take a long, expensive plane ride to the bride or groom's hometown. I get that; people live somewhere. But my wife went to Scotland for a wedding in a castle. Nobody (in the couple was) Scottish, there's no earthly reason to go to Scotland for that - to Scotland they went!
Q. A section begins by mocking the activities planned for a wedding weekend. Why include the chapter titles?
A. Well, to mark the passage of time. But also, because that Saturday really kills you. There's never a problem with the rehearsal dinner, the wedding itself or the farewell brunch. That's all fine. But it's the list of activities with which they fill out the weekend that drives me up the wall - they're sheer filler. I don't want to bungee jump; if I wanted to, I'd do that where I live. I certainly don't want to fly 3,000 miles to bungee jump, and I don't want to do it with those people I just met. At a certain point, it's like: Get married already!
Q. "Destination Wedding" only has two speaking characters - an on-screen rarity. I felt like I was watching a play.
A. I like writing arguments, and this is effectively a 90-minute argument between these two. We've seen so many plays like this, but why can't a movie be just about talking? Part of the reason was financial, to make a movie at as low of a cost as possible so that it had the best chance of succeeding in the marketplace. Independent films are not a charity; we should not be costing our investors money for the privilege of expressing ourselves.
Q. What's the biggest difficulty of making a movie with just two speakers?
A. You're asking your actors to be relentlessly appealing because there's nowhere to go for a rest. And you're asking them to master a mountain of material. People may not realize how verbally gifted Keanu is - he's a virtuoso, linguistically. If you really listen to "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure," you see what I'm talking about: a person with an encyclopedic mind, who understands every syllable and delivers it like music. It may be a surprise to some of his fans, but he's just really good at this.
And Winona is a brilliant person - extremely well-read and superb in conversation, with all sorts of facts at her fingertips, and very aware of the melody and cadence of dialogue. And there's nobody more likable on-screen than Winona Ryder - she's just so lovable and you root for her. It was fun to put a certain amount of disappointment and cynicism into the psyche of her character, who remains so hopeful even as so many horrible things have befallen her in life. It becomes heroic to be hopeful when you've been hammered.
Q. The disappointment and cynicism is more than plentiful here, especially with Reeves' character.
A. But, you know, I love grumpy people, especially when there are good reasons for their grumpiness. He's not just some curmudgeon in the corner who is grumpy for grumpy's sake; he has a pretty carefully constructed philosophy. Likable characters don't necessarily have to say likable things.
If you feel you're getting the honest version of a person, a little grumpy is OK. I'd much rather have that than someone who might not be what they seem. These two may not be pleasant, or warm and welcoming, but at least you know who they are.
Q. With "Book Club," "Set It Up," "Crazy Rich Asians," "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" and more, this summer has been a rom-com renaissance. What's so great about this genre?
A. I don't think there's anything better that you can write about than love in its various forms: romantic, familial, fraternal, whatever you want. It's the best thing that humans are capable of. I enjoy never having to spend a second on the question: Is this goal-worthy? Because if the goal is to find the buried treasure or win the war or whatever, I guess those are worthy goals but only because the movie is telling you so. But love, in any movie that asks you to root for it, is a worthy goal based on life experience. And with society the way it is now, I think every story that trumpets something positive and life-affirming is good for us.