Weddings with all those primal emotions swirling around are occasions for great soul-searching. The bride and the groom suffer a rollercoaster ride of feelings, both positive and negative, as they prepare for the ritual of family and friends gathering together to wish them well. Members of the bridal party are subject to emotional binges since the friendships with the groom and bride will change once they are married. Indeed, nothing will ever be the same again. Memories, regrets, and old conflicts come to the surface in men and women who have known each other a long time. All these emotions are masterfully accentuated and explored in The Groomsmen, written and directed by Edward Burns, who has a special talent for depicting men's struggles with love and its sibling feelings.
Paulie (Ed Burns) is only a week away from marrying his fiancée, Sue (Brittany Murphy), who is pregnant with their child. He is very apprehensive about the challenge of not only being a husband but shortly afterwards becoming a father. His older brother Jimbo (Donal Logue) has been chosen to be best man, but he has his doubts about whether Sue is the right woman for Paulie. His own life is in turmoil; having lost his job and gained weight, he feels he has disappointed his wife. No wonder he has trouble telling his brother the real source of his discontent with the upcoming marriage.
T.C. (John Leguizamo) has returned to his suburban Long Island neighborhood after an eight-year absence. One of his closest friends, Mike (Jay Mohr), has not forgiven him for leaving town without saying anything and for stealing one of his favorite baseball cards. Tension is high when they meet at the bar run by Dez (Matthew Lillard). T.C. shares a secret with his friends to which they all react differently. In addition, he has some unfinished business with his father.
In his seventh film, Burns circles around the theme of fatherhood and sheds light on the role from many different angles. While T.C. is seeking love from his father, his buddy Mike still lives at home with his father who looks after him with a nurturing kindness and compassion. He understands the burden of loneliness that his son carries and understands his futile efforts to re-enter the life of his beautiful ex-girlfriend (Jessica Capshaw). The one who is most entranced with fatherhood is Dez who has taught his two sons how to play guitar. He loves seeing them make music together. Dez's contribution to the wedding is bringing all four buddies together in a band to play rock.
The Groomsmen vividly conveys the trouble these five thirtysomething men have letting go of their attachment to the past and coming to terms with the responsibilities of adulthood. As they drink at the bar, brawl, play softball, go fishing, and golf, it's evident none of them has learned to tame the Peter Pan within. The ensemble performances in this excellent drama are outstanding. When the last scene appears, we find ourselves wishing these friends well, confident they can surge ahead to new adventures together because they have cleared away so many misunderstandings from the past. We should all do as well at weddings!
