DVD Review: Anne Hathaway’s ‘Rachel Getting Married’ Deserves Huge Audience on DVD

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DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Jonathan Demme’s “Rachel Getting Married” was easily one of the best films of 2008, featuring Oscar-worthy work by Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, screenwriter Jenny Lumet, and its acclaimed director. Full of energy, passion, love, and pain, “Rachel Getting Married” is a must-see, one of the few films of 2008 that will stand the test of time and the Sony DVD treats this excellent film with the respect it deserves. It’s a great release.

“Rachel Getting Married” can be a tough sell. A movie with a star known mostly for her mainstream comedies like “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Bride Wars” that’s shot with mostly handheld cameras and recreates an experience akin to being at someone else’s wedding is not the first flick most people reach for at the video store.

Rachel Getting Married was released on DVD on March 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Video

The truth is that, especially with the current depressed state of the national consciousness, drama is a tougher sell than the escapism of action, comedy, or even horror. The real world has enough drama. Why watch it? Because when it’s this well-done, even depressing drama can be uplifting.

Rachel Getting Married was released on DVD on March 10th, 2009. Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Video

“Rachel Getting Married” is about a woman who so hates herself that she admits in an AA meeting that she thinks she’s unworthy of God’s love. What would be harder to handle for a woman so full of self-loathing than a massive celebration of love at her sister’s wedding? That’s the basic set-up for “Rachel Getting Married” - a woman who believes she unlovable overwhelmed by a constant flow of it.

Kym (Anne Hathaway) is a recovering addict with an incredibly tragic past. Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt) is her sister, whose wedding has brought all of their family and friends together for a weekend of speeches, dancing, and, of course, some raw emotion. “Rachel” is about a wedding in the same way that “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is about a dinner party. It’s a set-up for so much more.

What earned the most praise during the theatrical run of “Rachel Getting Married” was the tour-de-force performance by Anne Hathaway, one that arguably should have won the Oscar (personally, Anne would be #2 after Sally Hawkins on my list but the Academy didn’t nominated Sally). It’s an unbelievable role. In one part, Hathaway gets to play tough, fragile, beautiful, and damaged.

Kym is not only the black sheep, she could easily feel that she’s the only one at the wedding with even the slightest character flaw. Demme and Lumet surround Kym and her family with a sweet-and-gentle groom (Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio), musicians galore (including Robyn Hitchcock), cultural dancers, and more speeches than you’ll hear at most real rehearsal dinners. It’s the wedding of Jonathan Demme’s dreams. Even Roger Corman stopped by to say hi.

Rachel Getting Married was released on DVD on March 10th, 2009. Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Video

Like I mentioned earlier, if you’re going for escapism or something to thrill you after a long week, “Rachel Getting Married” is not for you. Even viewers looking for melodrama should look elsewhere. Demme and Lumet have a great way of allowing the pain to come out in bursts, explosions of emotion that almost immediately becomes repressed yet again. They don’t linger on the pain and don’t tie things up in a pretty bow.

Life is a continuous emotional rollercoaster, especially for someone as damaged as Kym. Melodrama would paint her as completely joyless, but that’s not real. What’s real is fifteen minutes of rehearsal dinner speeches followed by just a couple of true emotional bloodletting. Each one of the toasts lets down a bit of the barrier that allows for what comes after. Yes, a lot of “Rachel Getting Married” is repetitive and arguably boring, but that’s what gives the emotional scenes their power.

And the ensemble is amazing. Hathaway got the press she deserved if not the Oscar but Irwin, DeWitt, Winger, and even Adebimpe are note-perfect.

See what all the buzz is about on the Sony DVD, presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with an English 5.1 audio track. Upconverted on a Blu-Ray player, it looks fantastic.

Even better is the collection of special features. “Art movies” like “Rachel Getting Married” often don’t get the collection of special features they deserve but what’s included with Demme’s film is a collection that perfectly enhances the film itself. Viewers will find deleted scenes, a commentary by Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel), a commentary by Neda Armian, screenwriter Jenny Lumet and Editor Tim Squres, cast & crew Q&A at the Jacob Burns Center, “A Look Behind the Scenes of Rachel Getting Married,” and “The Wedding Band”.

“Rachel Getting Married” was perfect in theaters. Luckily, it’s lost none of its powers and been given the treatment it deserves on DVD.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com