Movie Review: 112 Weddings

by Gwen Berumen

Why do so many romantic comedies and Disney films end with marriage? What is about this ceremony that makes it the ultimate happy ending?

Documentary filmmaker Doug Block answers this plus more in the documentary 112 Weddings. Over the past couple decades; Block had filmed weddings in his free time in order to make some extra cash between documentaries. Using some of this footage as well as new footage that showcases some of the couples (and not-so-couples) after the big day. The documentary’s official title is 112 Weddings: Happily Ever After is Complicated. This title perfectly encompasses what the film is about, and what it manages to answer.  

If you were hoping to get a full dosage of the Wedding Industrial Complex with 112 “Bridezillas” on the side, then this is not the film for you. The film instead looks past this very compartmentalized view of the marriage ceremony and focuses on the organic and complicated concept of marriage. 112 Weddings can be summed up by a quote by Block at the beginning of the film, “I’ve seen what goes into getting married; now I want to know what goes into staying married.”  

Some couples have split up, some have stayed together with hardship, and some appear to be just fine. All of them, however, agree: marriage is not something that can be universally defined. Nor can it be universally conquered.

It’s a very genuine film that seems so normal; it’s as if the viewer can imagine themselves in the shoes of anyone in the film. The couples interviewed are truthful, and they seem like they really care about answering some of the questions that Block asks. However, they are not questions that can easily be answered.

And while the documentary won’t tell you exactly why marriage is the ultimate end goal for Disney princesses, it will leave you with a very touched heart. Marriage isn’t what you expect – but is anything?

112 Weddings premieres on HBO on June 30th, 2014. 


Media via filmswoon.com and YouTube. 

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