The Marrying Man

source: The Marrying Man

Trailer—The Marrying Man

The Marrying Man

A very rich toothpaste heir playboy (Baldwin) lets raging testosterone make all of his major decisions, which results in tiresomely predictable but never really fatal results. The object of most of his affection is a Las Vegas cabaret singer who is the girlfriend of Bugsy Siegel (Armand Assante in a too-brief appearance). Kim Bassinger does a lot of singing and even more shimmying, but that's about all she contributes to a script which consists mostly of a tiresome series of not very funny one-liners. Don't be misled by the Neil Simon credit. Simon has done far better plays, and should have known enough to burn the script of this disaster before letting anyone film it.

An excellent romantic comedy. Kim Basinger is superb in the role of a cabaret singer. She is gorgeous, immediate, and really puts over a song. She radiates true star quality and the staging of the songs is stunning. The screenplay is fresh and funny, and creates a delightful artificial reality that is validated by the emotional truths it conveys. Alec Baldwin is appealing and natural. Elizabeth Shue is perfectly cast in a subsidiary role and delivers with conviction. Minuses are the supporting four Baldwin buddies and major lapses in mise en scene. A touching, funny, and underrated movie. If, like me, you've passed by the video box for eons, turned off by the Art Disco graphic design, take a deep breath and give it a try.

This is probably one of the best romantic-comedy-drama movies I have ever seen. Sure, 'My Best Friend's Wedding' was good, too, but 'The Marrying Man' was great without all of the publicity. Alec Baldwin gives a radiant performance from slick, rich, toothpaste company heir that dates a young Elisabeth Shue to a slick, rich, toothpaste company heir that dates lounge singer (and future wife, both in the movie and outside) Kim Basinger to a bum who marries the same lady four times, hence the title. At times, I did get a little bored, but after I watched it for the second time, I saw things I didn't see the first time. This movie is a hidden gem for the acquired taste. Although I wouldn't recommend it for little kids or people who get bored with movies during the first ten minutes, it was a really great movie.

This film is proof that by just combining two of my favorite stars with the writing of Neil Simon, is not necessarily a guarantee of success. I understand that this is a comedy and the actions of the characters may be exaggerated for comic purposes. The problem is that even though the characters actions made no sense through the movie, it wasn't funny. I honestly found myself disliking Alec's character. Sorry everyone. I would rather watch Alec and Kim in The Getaway(1994) which I thought was a lot better than the 1972 original.

This movie on the face of it is complete rubbish. Harmless rubbish, but rubbish all the same. However it does have the redeeming feature of being extremely funny in places. The wacky story line makes this enjoyable, if unrealistic. The film is worth watching, just don't expect anything earth moving.

I don't know why but "The Marrying Man" doesn't work. Neil Simon is one of the greats and I usually enjoy both Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin. Those three together should have made for a good movie. Unfortunately, "The Marrying Man" isn't that good. It has its moments but enough to make it worth while. Maybe this movie was misdirected. Maybe directing a Neil Simon script is not as easy as it looks. Maybe the slick production smothered a lot of the humor. I don't know but "The Marrying Man" is an okay movie at best.

Whether you'd admit it or not, I don't believe that anyone watched this movie and didn't enjoy it. It talks to our basic instincts in a very honest way. I mean ain't we all looking for this undying passion? You look at them (Alec and Kim) in this movie and you can believe that this kind of passion can be found but you need to be lucky enough to be mutual. For we all know that we sometimes meet people and have such feelings for them and they don't exchange it back or vice versa. The movie has so funny scenes and Baldwin is so funny as well. Kim is so charming and the whole movie would push you towards finding this kind of coupling.