By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com
'Groomsmen' Premiere Footage Better Than the Actual Movie
After its world premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Ed Burns’s peculiar chick-flick-for-guys, The Groomsmen, opened in Los Angeles and New York last Friday. The film addresses the maturity issues facing a group of old pals reunited for their friend’s wedding, and despite the writer/director/star’s insistence on forcing some kind of catharsis into every scene (while fishing or drinking or garage-rocking, natch), I admit finding occasional pleasures in its middling, meandering banter.
Alas, as per usual, the real show appears to have unfolded last week on The Groomsmen‘s L.A. red carpet, where a hapless intrepid soul from upstart video site Iklipz withstood a wobbly barrage of nonsense from all indie comers:
Brittany Murphy: “The character I play is… is… is pregnant. She’s very pregnant. Although… and she’s real sensible during her pregnancy. And very strong-willed. (She) keeps a very good head on her shoulders, and while her husband’s having a bit of a–or her husband-to-be–is having a bit of a meltdown–Eddie’s character–she keeps everything pretty clear and pretty stable. She’s kind of the rock.”
Jay Mohr: “What friend am I? He’s like one of these guys. He stands around. He’s one of these guys from the neighborhood who tawks like dis. ‘Fuh-get it.’ You know. ‘Whaddya gonna do?’ It’s a hot day. I wore the black suit. I figure if you wear black and you act like you’re nice and cool, everyone will go, ‘You know what? Maybe it’s not that hot outside. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Cousin Mike is right.’ “
Selma Blair: (on romance): “Probably getting married was the most romantic thing. But now I’m getting divorced, so… Ha! Screw that.”
The outtakes are best viewed live, obviously, but for those of you whose online work-dodging extends solely to the written word, this should hold you over until you can enjoy Burns’s enthusiastic “Twisted Shister” invocations for yourself. You’re welcome.