Perfectly adorable

People are voting emotionally.

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

When this movie came out Michael Angarano was 23 and Uma Thurman was 40. When the roles are reversed few eyebrows are raised, but we still think it odd when the woman is much older. In this entertaining little movie that is at its core.Angarano is Sam Davis , a not overly successful author of children's books. In fact in the opening scene he is doing a reading, and as the camera pans back we see that only one other person is in the room, a guy friend of his. But it may have only been a rehearsal, we don't know, and it is indicative of his tenuous standing as an author.In fact we can legitimately wonder if these two guys are in a homosexual relationship, so comfortable are they with each other. But they aren't, they are just close friends from way back, almost like brothers. So this weekend they are on an excursion outside the city (N.Y.) and end up at a beaten down inn, just adjacent to and sharing a beach with an upscale place where, it just HAPPENS, a party is planning a big wedding.The bride to be is Uma Thurman as Zoe and Sam has traveled there specifically to try to divert the wedding plans. It seems he and Zoe had some sort of "relationship" and he was hoping he could convince her they were best for each other. But at least one of the issues, from Zoe's point of view, is the age difference. Plus the fact that her fiancée has a career and income, unlike Sam.The IMDb rating is about right, overall it isn't that good a movie, much of the dialog doesn't work very well, but Thurman and Angarano are both nice to watch and that makes it worth the time for light entertainment.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!! I have a guilty secret. When I start to watch a movie that I've taped on my DVR I usually come to IMDb and read some of the reviews just to get a sense of where it's going before I give up my time. I know, terrible, but there you have it.So I read some of the reviews here and though uh-oh, I might as well work while I watch this one, which I did but not very successfully. As in I didn't get much work done because I was completely entertained by this movie. I know we've seen all kinds of wedding movies with similar plots. But if you really think about it there are only 5-6 plots in movies anyway (if you take out the specific details). So I'm fine with watching similar plots over and over, because there really is no choice on that anyway.I thought the storyline was great. I read another person say that the characters were all unlikable, but I disagree. I thought that it was a story about a very immature 23 year old who had a fling with an older woman and is handling it like a 23 year old. His insecurities made him act a certain way, but I had empathy for the pain he was really feeling and and the sincerity in his feels of love towards this woman. He was the kind of person who has the gift of gab and which led him to throw phony compliments to his friend while he manipulates and uses him. But that didn't take away from what I saw as real caring for his friend, Marshall. In fact I'm sure Marshall really appreciated the attention he got from Sam as he had his own issues which made him appear as someone who doesn't get out much.I also appreciated the fact that this wasn't the predictable boy loves girl, boy tries to break up impending marriage and boy succeeds.I read someone else complain that Zoe was marrying an *hole who you knew was an *hole from the start. I didn't see it that way at all. I thought the finance Whit was 'who he was', but really loved and cared for Zoe. He even allowed this 'fling' to be a pen pal of Zoes and when he shows up at the wedding there was no hissy fits, because he loves Zoe so much. Yes he was a bit self absorbed but so are many successful people.I thought the emotions that Zoe felt for Sam were very real and appropriate for what their situation really was and her reluctance to hurt him was well written. I didn't take it that she didn't love Whit or was marrying for the wrong reasons. Her relationship with Sam was this slice of life thing for her and she was happy moving forward in her life, but for Sam it was so much more. At the end you could see that Sam (and Marshall for that matter) grew up a little bit more. Isn't that true for your one big heartbreak? It sends you to the next phase of your life, and that's what I felt for both boys at the end. New phase. Growing up, but not yet grown up. Ah, to be young and that crazy in love again!

CEREMONY – CATCH IT ( B- ) Ceremony is a quirky little movie about young guy crashing the wedding of the woman he loves. The movie is smart, funny and full of good performances by the lead stars. Michael Angarano & Reece Thompson's bromance sold this out for me. Their scenes have very dark humor to it. Michael Angarano hopelessly in love is something to see, he brings the madness to the movie. Uma Thurman after Kill Bill did something decent enough otherwise it's been long time she has appeared in something not mediocre. Lee Pace is weird and out of his box. The movie is quirky & funny but lacks big time in screenplay. The whole time story just stays from where it started. To be honest nothing change till the very last moment, and even in last moment you've to imagine that that's how it will end. Sometimes, I wanted to see big jumps or shocking twists in the screenplay, but it never happened so the whole time it stays on the same note from where it all started. Anyways, I won't say it was boring but I think it has the potential to be lot funnier. Overall, watch for its performances and overall vibe, it's enjoyable.

CEREMONY is one of the brighter starts to rise out of Hollywood this year. Though it was made in 2010 and released on Demand TV before its ultimate release on theaters, it is hopefully going to gather the audience it so richly deserves. It is a young work: the writer/director is Max Winkler, son of Henry Winkler, a bright young talent who essentially makes his debut with little sparkler. Not only has he come up with a fresh idea for a story but he has also matched that story with a script that is at all times warmly entertaining and at many points a sensitive, philosophical examination of relationships today. And he has cast the film with some of the finest young actors on screen at present. Sam Davis (Michael Angarano, a brilliant young actor in his early 20s, so memorable in the deeply touching 'One Last Thing') writes children's books and lives in the child like fantasies of kids. He has a friend Marshall Schmidt (Reece Thompson, another early 20s bright young talent) who happens to show up as the only member of an audience to hear Sam read his latest new children's book. The two boys rekindle their friendship, stagnant for the past year while Marshall recovered from an altercation and hid in his parents home while Sam had a momentary encounter with a beautiful 30s something woman Zoe (Uma Thurman). The two lads decide to take a little trip to ostensibly to get Marshall out of his parent's home to see the world, but in actuality Sam has heard that Zoe is marrying some wealthy guy, Whit Coutell (Lee Pace, another brilliant actor remembered for his shattering performance in 'Soldier's Girl'), at Whit's lavish seaside home. Sam and Marshall mend long absent feelings of closeness and taking some daring steps they drive to the seaside estate, obtain an invitation to Zoe's party (her wedding to Whit Actually) from Zoe's drunken brother Teddy (Jake M. Johnson). Sam confronts Zoe, stating his love and his desire to marry her, but Zoe needs more than a young kid to satisfy her and sees the opportunities of marrying the moneyed Whit. In a series of incidents both hilarious at times and deeply tender at others all characters discover new concepts of relationships. How the film ends is left for the viewer to discover. Michael Angarano is pitch perfect as Sam, a young man whose ideals are tested and who must learn the adult role. His skills are so polished at this young stage in his career that he is bound to become a major star. Reece Thompson is not far behind, and Uma Thurman gives one of her most well rounded performances. Lee Pace makes the most of his role, sparkling as the reigning optimist of the story. But in the end most of the credit for the success of this little gem is due to the talent of Max Winkler who writes as well as he directs: he is a formidable force. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp