The Wedding Party (1969)

26% of users liked it
(399 ratings)

This dark comedy finds Charlie (Charles Pfulger) traveling to stay at the house of his fiancee's parents two days before his wedding to Josephine (Jill Clayburgh). With his two friends, he discusses Vietnam, the sexual revolution, black power, and compares bachelor life to that of a married man.… More This dark comedy finds Charlie (Charles Pfulger) traveling to stay at the house of his fiancee's parents two days before his wedding to Josephine (Jill Clayburgh). With his two friends, he discusses Vietnam, the sexual revolution, black power, and compares bachelor life to that of a married man. Charlie tries to talk Josephine's former suitor into resuming his quest, is propositioned by the church organist, and misses his own bachelor party before finally making to the wedding at the insistence of his friends. Robert De Niro plays the role of Charlie's friend Cecil in this unusual comedy with lots of improvisational dialogue. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Charles Pfluger, Jennifer Salt
Genres: Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 9, 1969 Wide
On DVD: Jan 25, 2005

Critic Reviews

Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Greater than The Graduate
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
Talk about exiting the gate with a running start.

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Conner R

One of the best commentaries on the horror of getting married. It has the incredibly deranged meet and greets with relatives and the fact that you are basically doing job interviews every time. The use of time is brilliant and original, you can clearly see it has had an impact on De… More
One of the best commentaries on the horror of getting married. It has the incredibly deranged meet and greets with relatives and the fact that you are basically doing job interviews every time. The use of time is brilliant and original, you can clearly see it has had an impact on De Palma’s later films. The story develops quite well and makes you really get a sense of people, not just characters. For the time period and budget, it’s about the best possible movie you could ask for.
Adam M

has some great formal experiments, natural improv, and Finley gives a better performance than De Niro in their first movie
Stephen M

Made in 1963 and shelved until 1969, this was the feature debut of Brian De Palma and the first of three early movies he made with Robert De Niro. Plot-wise, it's a very simple farce about a bridegroom's last-minute jitters, but it's very flashily put together with… More
Made in 1963 and shelved until 1969, this was the feature debut of Brian De Palma and the first of three early movies he made with Robert De Niro. Plot-wise, it's a very simple farce about a bridegroom's last-minute jitters, but it's very flashily put together with speeded-up photography, slow-motion, freeze-frames, jump-cuts and a host of other tricks utilised. Hardly a great movie but, as with a lot of low-budget, independent films, the enthusiasm of the people involved is infectious and charming.