A Wedding (1978)

The son (Desi Arnaz Jr.) of a prestigious and wealthy "old school" Chicago family marries the daughter (Amy Stryker) of a Kentucky nouveau riche family who made their money in trucking. At the wedding reception, trysts, secrets, romance, misunderstandings and death merge and clash. Directed by Robert Altman, this ensemble comedic satire is all over the place and the lack of cohesion prevents it from achieving any sort of flow. It just sputters and jerks all the way through to the end. Plus, despite the occasional spotty pieces of wit, it's just not funny. It comes across as a test run from one of his later, more successful ensemble movies like GOSFORD PARK. The characters aren't particularly interesting much less likable and there's so many of them that no one gets the opportunity to craft a detailed character. Lillian Gish as the matriarch of the family comes off best but that's probably because she's killed off at the beginning of the movie. A misfire but still, Altman has done far worse. The massive cast includes Carol Burnett, Mia Farrow, Vittorio Gassman, Howard Duff, Geraldine Chaplin, Dina Merrill, Peggy Ann Garner, Viveca Lindfors, Lauren Hutton, Paul Dooley, Nina Van Pallandt, Margaret Ladd, Marta Heflin, John Cromwell, Ruth Nelson, Pam Dawber, Pat McCormick and Dennis Christopher.