The Original ‘Father of the Bride’ is a Delight
And a reminder that I just don’t understand weddings.
I grew up watching the Steve Martin Father of the Bride and recently watched HBO’s latest retelling starring Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan. You can check out my review of that here:
Since I had watched the two remakes and not the original, I decided to seek out the original film starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, and Elizabeth Taylor. Lucky for me, Father of the Bride is currently streaming on HBO Max.
The story is what you might expect it to be — a father has to grapple with the emotional and financial implications of his daughter getting married. Just as in the other films, the marriage happens quickly, and the parents get to know their daughter’s fiance only after the engagement has happened.
Unsurprisingly, I had a good time with this film. Spencer Tracy, of course, gives a great performance as Stanley T. Banks. This character finds himself in some interesting situations, and Tracy takes every one of them in stride. He is able to…
