Before I saw Sister of the Bride, I was originally going to post my review of Moulin Rouge!, in honor of receiving 110 followers on 18 Cinema Lane. But since I haven’t reviewed a Hallmark movie in about two months, I decided to review the latest film from the “June Weddings” line-up. As for the Moulin Rouge! review, that will come as soon as possible. Over these past two years, I have not been a fan of the last film that has premiered in the “June Weddings” line-up. My Favorite Wedding was less-than-stellar and Yes, I Do became one of the worst Hallmark movies I’ve ever seen. So, when I learned that Sister of the Bride would be the last movie in this line-up, I set my expectations very low. The synopsis and the trailer seemed too ridiculous for my liking. However, I still wanted to give this movie a fair chance and watch it with an open mind. Did I finally find a final “June Weddings” movie that was good? Let’s read this review of Sister of the Bride before anyone “speaks now or forever holds their peace”!

Things I liked about the film:

• The acting: The acting in Sister of the Bride was, for the most part, good! I have seen Becca Tobin’s acting performances in A Song for Christmas and Love at First Dance. While I haven’t really been a fan of these Hallmark films, I’ve noticed that Becca always puts in the effort to give the best acting performance she can. In Sister of the Bride, Becca’s acting performance was pleasant to watch! Because of this, it helped her character be as likable as she was. I had also seen Ryan Rottman in Christmas Wonderland before watching Sister of the Bride. His acting performance in both of these films was good! Ryan’s character had the right amount of charm to make him a pleasant individual.

 

• The lessons and messages: As I’ve mentioned in my reviews of other Hallmark films, relatable and interesting lessons and messages can usually be found in Hallmark’s stories. There were some lessons and messages in Sister of the Bride that I was made aware of while watching the film. One in particular was how fruit tarts were the favorite dessert of the Founding Fathers. I’m not sure if this is accurate information. But if it is, I would find this to be a fascinating tidbit. A message that I liked seeing within this movie was about thoughtfulness, specifically in relation to the characters of Ben and Stephanie’s father. I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen this movie yet. But I thought this part of the story was very touching and heart-felt.

 

• A unique location: In most of Hallmark’s movies, the story takes place in a fictional, suburban setting. The location in Sister of the Bride was Palm Springs, Florida. This was a great change in scenery because it’s not often for a Hallmark movie to take plan in this state. From the palm trees to the sunny weather, it looked different from some of the other Hallmark movies within this line-up of films. It shows what each of the states has to offer when including important elements to a given story!

What I didn’t like about the film:

• A limited incorporation of Independence Day: In Sister of the Bride, Stephanie wants to get married on Independence Day. While this holiday did play a role in the film, it felt like an underappreciated supporting character. There were Independence Day decorations, as well as a festival. But it didn’t feel like the holiday had as big of a significance as other holidays did in previous Hallmark movies. This seemed like the network made a weak attempt at making up for the lack of new, Independence Day content.

 

• Too many subplots: I said in the introduction that this film’s synopsis and trailer seemed too ridiculous for me. The reason for this is how many stories were incorporated into the overall narrative. When I watched Sister of the Bride, I discovered that there were about six subplots found in this movie. This felt like too much was going on in the film, preventing me from focusing on one specific subplot. If there would have been one or two main plots with an additional subplot, the overall story would have been much more cohesive.

 

• A dose of awkwardness: Throughout Sister of the Bride, there were a few moments that came across as awkward. A perfect example is this is anytime Stephanie’s father made antagonizing comments about Ben. I was confused as to whether it was supposed to be funny or just show that Stephanie’s father didn’t like Ben. Either way, these moments always came across as awkward.

My overall impression:

I’m happy to say that Sister of the Bride is better than My Favorite Wedding and Yes, I Do! But, at the same time, Sister of the Bride could have been a stronger film. This story had some interesting ideas that I thoroughly enjoyed seeing in this movie. However, the overall project was held back by having too many stories to keep track of. I’ve seen almost all of the “June Weddings” movies from this year. Compared to last year’s line-up, the 2019 collection of “June Weddings” movies were much stronger! Out of all the films that I’ve seen in this particular line-up, The Last Bridesmaid is still the best one, in my opinion. It’ll be interesting to see how next year’s “June Weddings” collection compares to the movies that aired this year.

 

Overall score: 6.1 out of 10

 

Have you seen the movies from Hallmark’s “June Weddings” line-up? Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comment section!

 

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen