List Price: $14.97 Our Price: $13.47YOU SAVE $1.5!
Buy it
DVD Father of the Bride
This 1950 Vincente Minnelli classic may show its age here and there, but it's still a far sturdier movie than the 1991 Steve Martin vehicle. Spencer Tracy earned yet another Oscar nomination for his wonderfully well observed portrayal of Stanley Banks, a decent (if occasionally long-winded) fellow who gets caught up and cut up in the rudderless spectacle that is the wedding of his only daughter (Elizabeth Taylor, of course). It's a sage commentary on the class mores of the day--how much does one spend? (Or, more accurately, when does one quit spending?) Does one invite one's work colleagues, even if they don't know the bride? Tracy is simply magnificent, gruffly warm and funny, whether he's getting sloppy drunk and discoursing at length or simply sitting by, silently amazed, as his daughter and her beau make up after a spat. The film inspired a sequel (1951's Father's Little Dividend--try getting that title made nowadays), a remake, and a remake of its sequel, as well as a TV series--all in all, almost as many incarnations as Taylor had weddings. --David Kronke
Viewers who have fond memories of America of the 1950s may find this film amusing. Others will find it dated and wonder how anyone could have ever enjoyed it.
The problem is one of values. Spencer Tracy plays a upper middle class lawyer, whose innocent daughter Elizabeth Taylor (somehow even a young Liz fails to cut it as as an ingénue) announces one day that she has decided to marry Buckley Somebody. (Here, as in life, the groom is a cipher. It is telling that a no-name actor plays Buckley).
At first Dad is concerned that Liz will be marrying a pauper, but not to worry, Buckley's family turns out to be rich -- in addition to having a larger house, they have a white maid, while Liz's family only has Delilah, a black maid! Good stuff.
The most interesting aspect of the film is its depiction of 1950s "sophistication": Mom and Dad sleeping in separate beds in pressed nightclothes that leave everything to the imagination, the heavy drinking of hard liquor (Tracy comes across as an alcoholic, but a "loveable" one), and a formal wedding meant to generate lots of presents and impress the business associates of the parents.
All in all, a thoroughly depressing film.
If you do decide to buy it, try to get the original black & white version, not the more recent "colorized" one which adds an unintended level of vulgarity to the film.
a great movie
I picked this movie up a few months ago. When it first came out, a few years before, I waited because some of the reviews stated it wasn't rendered to dvd very well.I wish I hadn't waited, this is a great movie ! and may I add that it looks silky and smooth in black and white, a very clean transfer.Anyone whos been in a wedding can identify with this,its now my ten year old daughters favorite movie,and i'm glad she can see some real acting from the likes of Spencer Tracy and joan bennet...another great job Warner Bros!
Good heart, good laughs, good fun
The more I see of Spencer Tracy, the more underrated I think he was as an actor. And this is the kind of film where he excelled, the everyman comedy with sentimental touches of drama and romance. "Father Of the Bride" is not a cutting edge social commentary, just a humorous slice of life regarding a middle class Joe whose daughter is the apple of his eye, and the man in her life is suddenly someone else. The inherent tension and humor in this situation and all that follows makes for a sweet film with no sour spots except that its B&W nature makes it impossible to fully appreciate young Liz Taylor's remarkable eyes. The Steve Martin remake is OK, but there was only one Spencer Tracy, and if only for that difference this original version is much preferred. A classic for the ages, and one that all ages can enjoy.
Very disappointed. While one of my favorite movies, it was almost
unwatchable due to the poor audio and video. It was almost as if it were a tenth generation copy from a poor original. I will not buy anything else produced by this company. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Spencer Tracy - Joan Bennett - Elizabeth Taylor Director(s): Vincente Minnelli DVD Release Date: Released the 27 November 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $7.98 Your Price: $7.98YOU SAVE $0!
Buy it
This '90s update of the Spencer Tracy-Elizabeth Taylor hit is a mix of the pleasant and the silly, a nice enough movie but a little too controlled to become particularly interesting. Steve Martin plays the aging patriarch who is threatened by his daughter's engagement and not-quite-willing to let her go. The writing-directing team of Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers provides Martin's character with a perhaps too-broad range of comic responsiveness to the situation, some of it gentle (a ritual game of basketball between dad and his little girl) and some of it slapstick (Martin sneaking around his prospective in-laws' house and encountering a guard dog). Martin Short turns up as a wedding coordinator--which has deliriously delicious possibilities--but his inventiveness doesn't quite strike... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Steve Martin - Diane Keaton - Martin Short Director(s): Charles Shyer DVD Release Date: Released the 20 April 1999 Special Order
List Price: $19.99 Your Price: $17.99YOU SAVE $2!
Buy it
Cary Grant stars as an advertising executive who dreams of getting out of the city and building a perfect home in the country, only to find the transition fraught with problems. (See the 1980s Tom Hanks comedy The Money Pit for an updated version of the same idea.) The big appeal here are the two leads, Grant and Myrna Loy, who were each in their early 40s and at the peak of their careers. Together with solid support from Melvyn Douglas and a screenplay that might have been tailor-made for their polished brand of comedy, the stars dominate this simple project. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Director(s): H.C. Potter - Tex Avery DVD Release Date: Released the 01 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: $14.99YOU SAVE $4.99!
Buy it
One of the later Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn matchups, this time pitting efficiency expert--sorry, that's "methods engineer"--Richard Sumner (Tracy) against TV-network research whiz Bunny Watson (Hepburn) over adding a new-fangled computer--again, sorry, that's "electronic brain"--to her department, thereby threatening her and her colleagues' livelihoods. Gig Young appears as Bunny's beau, an ambitious network executive who strings her along and becomes apoplectic at the idea that she doesn't need him. But as always, it's Hepburn and Tracy's bickering-flirting that makes this such a winning enterprise--a lunch date that turns into an interrogation and their sly repartee during a Christmas party are a couple of the movie's hilarious highlights. Interestingly, what starts out as... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Spencer Tracy - Katharine Hepburn Director(s): Walter Lang DVD Release Date: Released the 04 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.98 Your Price: $11.98YOU SAVE $3!
Buy it
Everybody important from the first film, including the writing-directing team of Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers, regroups for this sequel involving a pair of pregnancies. Steve Martin's patriarch has a crisis when his married daughter (Kimberly Williams) is with child, and an even bigger one when his middle-aged wife (Diane Keaton) announces that another bambino is on the way. Martin Short is more effectively used this time around (he played the wedding coordinator in the first film), and while this movie's inevitable climax has both women giving birth on the same chaotic night, the overall effect of the film is less contrived than its predecessor. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Director(s): Charles Shyer DVD Release Date: Released the 09 May 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.99 Your Price: $10.99YOU SAVE $4!
Buy it
