THE WEDDING PLAN – Review

We’re less than a week away from June, the big wedding month, so let’s head, not to the chapel, but to the multiplex to catch a new nuptials flick. This new one is about an ultra-determined bride who has set a deadline to walk down the aisle. The non-refundable deposit is down for the hall, the reception, and the facilities, but the only part of her plan that’s missing is the groom. Ah, another zany, frothy “rom-com”, much in the style of 27 DRESSES and BRIDE WARS (perhaps Heigl, or Hudson are in this one). you would think. Well, you would be wrong. Sure there are flashes of humor, but this new film ties the wedding to a test of faith. For this new take on “the big day” is from Israel, and its heroine is an Orthodox Jew. There are no wacky hi-jinks involving cake tasting and bands or “DJs”. She has a very somber, serious, strategy when she follows THE WEDDING PLAN.

We met this woman, Michal (Noa Koler), as she meets with a Hasidic spiritual counselor named Hulda (Odelia Moreh-Matalon), a lady specializing romantic advice. Hulda helps Michal confront her real desire for marriage, and suggests her son Shimi’s (Amos Taman) catering service. Cut to Michal and her fiance Gidi (Ererz Drigues) sampling Shimi’s specialties. She feels that Gid’s is distracted, and after some prodding he blurts out that he does not love her anymore. The wedding is off…for the moment. After a confab with her “roomies” and sister, Michal makes a bold plan. She will put down deposits for a wedding ceremony that will occur in 30 days (on the eighth day of Hanukkah). And then she will find a mate, or rather God will provide a husband. If her faith is strong, all will work out. Still, she enlists two matchmakers that arrange a couple of calamitous meetings. One suitor refuses to look at her while conversing, while another who is hearing-impaired can only speak through a sign-language interpreter. To strengthen her resolve, Michal takes a quick trip to the Ukraine to pray at the tomb of a renown rabbi. There she runs into a dashing pop singer named Yos (Oz Zehavi). After a hesitant start, sparks fly. Yos is intrigued by her mission and insists that he will find her when they return to Israel. But as the deadline looms, Michal begins to waver (especially after seeing the teenage throngs at Yos’s concert). Will someone step forward, or will her wedding day be a day of humiliation and sorrow?

Anchoring this modern meditation on religion and romance is the formidable performance of Koler as the uncompromisingly, endearing, and often exasperating Michal. We can see her steely determination to bend tradition, not break, while still hoping for a chance at true love and fulfillment. While the deadline looms, Michal often seems to be building walls, pushing potential suitors to jump through hoops, making sure they understand her reasoning. But she has moments of great joy, as when she dances with abandon with her girlfriends as they decide on reception music. Or when we see her at her occupation, interacting with children while she talks about her “mobile zoo”. Koler has great rapport with all of her “possibilities” particularly the rugged Taman, who challenges her about the quest, while trying to hide his interest (could this unhappily married man be flirting?). And the film truly crackles with Koler verbal sparing (maybe jousting?) with the charismatic Zehavi, as the crooner who can’t believe that Michal’s not swayed by his considerable charms. Yos is delighted that he’s actually making effort, after dealing with scores of fawning fans.

Writer/ director Rama Burshtein (FILL THE VOID) presents an interesting look at the ordered rules of courtship in the Orthodox community, with a feminine (almost feminist) spin. It’s a compelling, often moving story of woman frustrated with the system, but willing to give it one last chance (and a deadline). Though a few subplots never really pay-off (Michal’s sister’s troubled marriage, their mother’s near panic), Michal’s “arranged” dates are often devastating (the hearing-impaired encounter ends with a shocking revelation). By the end we’re truly rooting for Michal, and though the resolution seems a tad too tidy, it still pushes our emotional buttons. For an involving look at a the “mating dance” of a very different culture, plan to see THE WEDDING PLAN.

3 Out of 5

THE WEDDING PLAN opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas