Three Many Weddings

Is there anything worse than being dumped in record time? Yes, namely having paved the way for the newfound happiness of three ex-partners and then being invited to their weddings. The most tragic thing about Ruth's fate, however, is that she simply cannot say NO! The friendly marine biologist (Inma Cuesta) is actually a dream woman herself: smart, beautiful, perhaps a little chaotic, but equipped with a healthy dose of self-irony even in the most difficult situations. But Ruth has no luck with men. After being dumped by her last ex-boyfriend next to a wedding banquet, three invitations to the weddings of her former lovers arrive at her doorstep in quick succession. Ruth, friendly as she is, puts her lobster research animals in the aquarium and sets off with young lab intern Dani (Martiño Rivas) in tow to attend the invitations. The platonic pair of friends turn into “wedding crashers” who don't miss a single opportunity to put their foot in it. Javier Ruiz Caldera's wedding farce not only features too many weddings on the agenda. It also goes all out in terms of humor, with mishaps and the occasional tastelessness. Equally exaggerated is the performance of Almodóvar actress Rossy de Palma as Ruth's quick-witted mother. And in this turbulent comedy, the adjective “quick-witted” must be taken literally. The fact that “3 bodas de más” was such a resounding success in Spain is not due to the exaggerated scenes, but rather to the casting of Inma Cuesta as the main character Ruth, who finds a difficult balance between her own attractiveness and the mannerisms and grimaces she uses to endow her multifaceted character with the right amount of dullness and clumsiness. Flanked by a magnificent cast, some of whom are very well known in Spain, the film ensures that (humorous) confusion and genuine wit are pleasantly balanced. This earned the box office hit no less than seven Goya nominations. "It is especially the unexpected twists and turns and the quirky characters that set ‘Three Weddings Too Many’ apart from the crowd. In addition to the comedy that arises from the stereotypical characters themselves, director Caldera repeatedly experiments with image and sound, contrasting them or eliciting laughter through the use of slow motion. Caldera's humor is often close to bawdy, but maintains the necessary distance from obscenity. [...] What remains is an entertaining summer comedy with actors who were previously unknown to the majority of German audiences and some of whom are worth discovering." (Falk Straub, on: kino-zeit.de)