MovieChat Forums > Kiss the Bride (2007) Discussion > a good film, but with problems SPOILERS

a good film, but with problems SPOILERS

posted 17 years ago by tkrolak
3 replies | jump to latest

Kiss the Bride I would recommend. It is a decent romantic comedy-drama. Two sides of the Matt-Ryan relationship are shown. One can see the viewpoint of each one. Matt wants an old friend not to suffer the fate worse than death,
that is marriage. Ryan wants Matt to understand that he is not the same person
he was when they were teenagers and Matt left town.

But my serious problem with the script is in two scenes. Matt kisses Alex, Ryan's fiancee. WHY?!! Is he gay or bisexual? Before the kissing, I had more sympathy for Matt than afterwards. Isn't he there to try to save his old buddy
Ryan from throwing away his life on Alex? If his character were later revealed to be bisexual, the kissing would make sense. But Matt later tells Ryan that "bi" is what your lover is telling you as he is packing his bags.

Then there is the climactic scene at the wedding. Matt finally comes to the conclusion that Ryan will never be his in the way he remembered him. But Ryan only makes a "commitment" with Alex, not marrying her. Here, "commitment" means not what it would be in other relationships. Ryan and Alex would be free to see others. So, where is the sense of commiting themselves to each other, of loyalty? Will Ryan, at long last, figure out his sexual identity?

At the end, Matt returns to his male partner, whom he had left to return to Ryan for the wedding he had wanted to stop, and did. If he didn't find his lover waiting for him upon his return, it would have served him right. Who wants to be a second choice?

[–] blackheart-3 16 years ago

wasn't the matt/alex kiss alcohol induced?

[–] groovymike_16 16 years ago

Yes. And things like that happen. It doesn't mean crap. Matt is no less gay after the kiss than before it. People are so obsessed with labels.

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[–] Violet_Loves_Iliona 16 years ago

But my serious problem with the script is in two scenes. Matt kisses Alex, Ryan's fiancee. WHY?!! Is he gay or bisexual? Before the kissing, I had more sympathy for Matt than afterwards. Isn't he there to try to save his old buddy Ryan from throwing away his life on Alex? If his character were later revealed to be bisexual, the kissing would make sense. But Matt later tells Ryan that "bi" is what your lover is telling you as he is packing his bags.

I believe that Matt kissed Ryan because of the tension between the two of them, that tension being their closeness and intimacy with Ryan. In other words, when Matt kissed Alex, it was almost like being intimate with Ryan. Add to this the fact that Matt's emotions (and hormones) were throbbing in a highly unsusual way, and he temporarily projected his feelings and attraction for Ryan onto Alex.

PS - that comment implying that bisexuality doesn't exist is the one thing I had a problem with in this film. Given that it was such a minor, off-the-cuff remark, I ignored it, but it's pretty emblematic of the bigotry and prejudice within the gay community towards people with another sexuality (in this case, bisexuality).

But Ryan only makes a "commitment" with Alex, not marrying her. Here, "commitment" means not what it would be in other relationships. Ryan and Alex would be free to see others. So, where is the sense of commiting themselves to each other, of loyalty? Will Ryan, at long last, figure out his sexual identity?

No, I don't think you understood the whole concept of "commitment" here. As well as the obvious meaning, which Alex spelled out in the speach she gave during her wedding vows, they were also making a reference to the concept of a "commitment ceremony" that homosexuals can have; basically, she was stating that she values a "commitment ceremony" as much as marriage, because they are different names for essentially the same thing... and, as I said, she gave a speech about commitment using the general meaning, stating that she wanted Ryan to commit to her, not to marry her lightly, but to commit to her in every sense of the word.

At the end, Matt returns to his male partner, whom he had left to return to Ryan for the wedding he had wanted to stop, and did. If he didn't find his lover waiting for him upon his return, it would have served him right. Who wants to be a second choice?

I agree with you completely about this! :)

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