Anne Hathaway finally stars in a real movie, Anne Hathaway finally delievers a good performance

After an extended stint in rehab following a major family catastrophe, Kym (Hathaway) returns to her picture-perfect Connecticut hometown to attend the elaborate wedding of her older sister Rachel (played with considerable spark by Rosemarie DeWitt). Kym's arrival causes long-festering hurts to resurface, and the Buchmans' family unity is soon hanging by a thread. Issues of trust and reconciliation flow through the film, leading to discord between parents and their children, as well as among siblings and family friends, even as they all struggle to maintain a ceasefire during Rachel's nuptials. While Kym is offended by her sister's seeming ability to live a faultless existence, the rest of their family and friends resent Kym's penchant for self-serving theatrics and darkly comic one-liners.

Rachel Getting Married is hardly the best film of the year, but with a deeply invested and involved performance from the female lead and her supporting cast, it turns into something that's definitely worth watching. Jonathon Demme has strayed pretty far from his impeccable style seen in The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, but what he's come up with isn't awful, just a big odd.

I expected to watch an intensely dramatic film about a dysfunctional family with a troubled past, and that's exactly what I got. A bit of an emotional undertaking, but that's something I appreciate about (good) movies. You want to feel what the characters feel and understand them when they are misunderstood. You can do all of that with this film; however, what may cause you to look at your watch and sigh are the obnoxious and purposelessly long scenes shot in documentary style that trail on even after the third or fourth time you're sure they're finished. Demme has been meddling in documentaries as of late, so I suppose we can forgive him for his indulgence this time. But never again will I sit patiently through ten minutes of random musicians playing at a wedding reception while random and unimportant people dance, and dance, then some more, a little longer, now let's throw some elephants in there (!?), add some weird name chanting, maybe have Tamyra Grey from American Idol sing a bit (I'm not kidding)... Please cut that crap to about thirty seconds next time or I'm getting up and getting out.

Demme could have done pretty much all he wanted with this film, and all eyes would still be on Hathaway and DeWitt, who nurture a love/hate relationship that started after Hathaway's character accidentally killed their younger brother in a car accident. The scenes where the two battle are undeniably what make the film raw and full of grit. At her sister's rehearsal dinner, Hathway delivers her shining moment in the dark film: a toast to her sister, the bride to be. But instead of your normal, reminiscent speech, Kym manages to make all uncomfortable by highlighting what they already know: she's a recovering addict who feels the need to apologize to everyone she's wronged in the past, even at a time when everyone has come to celebrate her sister and her future husband's marriage. But you suddenly find yourself unsure whether to be irritated with Kym or sympathize with her efforts to gain back some solid footing. The film brilliantly and with great honesty, contrasts the biggest event of a woman's life with another woman's battle for forgiveness and her desire to finally leave the past behind her.

It's great that Anne Hathaway landed this role and has demonstrated her acting ability. I enjoyed her princess tirades just as much as the next not-so-closet Disney fan, but now she'll be able to expand quite a bit. This will definitely be her go to film for credibility after making me want to gauge my eyes out in Bride Wars this winter. Bring on more dark stuff for Anne! This was a great movie and a wonderful start to what looks like a promising future for her.