HotToastyRag What a timeless classic! I don't usually like Spencer Tracy, but Father of the Bride is a must-see classic nonetheless.Every parent, but fathers in particular, needs to watch this movie. If you'd rather see the remake with Steve Martin, go ahead, but the original has Elizabeth Taylor, and you really can't compete with that. In Father of the Bride, a man has to adjust to, accept, and bless his daughter's engagement. She's the apple of his eye, and all of a sudden, another man becomes the sun in her universe. It's heartbreaking for all parents, especially those who treasure their little girls. But how can you stay mad at sweet Elizabeth Taylor? The original novel is absolutely delightful and hilarious. The tone is hilarious and borderline tongue-in-cheek, which is perfectly reflected in Spencer Tracy's narration throughout the film. If you like Spence even a fraction more than I do, you'll like the film that much more. I don't usually like him, but he emanates gruff and grumpy, which is exactly what the part calls for! In the remake, Steve Martin isn't as grumpy, and if you read the original book, you'll see the father character has to be that way for the story to truly work. And no one can say the name "Buckley" with such disdain as Spence; it never fails to amuse me.The iconic scene: Liz is getting ready to go out on a date with her fiancé, and Spence suggests she put on a coat since it's cold outside. She refuses. Her fiancé makes the same suggestion as he picks her up at the house and she looks up at him adoringly before selecting a coat. If that makes you smile, you'll probably like the rest of the movie. For a bonus, watch this movie with your parents!

mark.waltz For dad Spencer Tracy to get through meeting his daughter's intended through the wedding reception (where he is not even able to get a kiss from her, let alone the father/daughter dance), it is a tribute to his love and sobriety that he doesn't end up in A.A. He isn't so lucky at the meeting of the groom's parents, and at the announcement of the engagement, he doesn't get to make his speech, being too busy getting sprayed in the face with coke. It seems that you have to be under 25 to be able to open a bottle! Then, there's the 6 mint juleps, 4 bourbons, and tray of martinis he's made which nobody seems to want.This is a story of frustration, neglect and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Desperate to see his kitten toss the bridal bouquet, Tracy tries to get through his own French doors and gets stuck in a crowd to rival the uptown train at Grand Central during rush hour. Having proved himself a top dramatic actor of the past two decades, he added comedy to his forte, first a series of romantic comedy's with Katharine Hepburn, then this magnificently funny film with Joan Bennett as the Myrna Loy like perfect wife and the gorgeous Elizabeth Taylor as the bride to be.Having made so many generic romantic comedy's, MGM must have been delightfully surprised by this one's tremendous success, both commercially and financially. The reason this one is so superb is that it takes on a different approach to a typical plot. By putting the event being seen through dad's eyes (isn't he the one always forgotten once he's walked the bride down the aisle?), screenwriters Hackett and Goodrich added in a type of comedy that dads everywhere (and their slightly guilty wives and daughters) could identify with.Tracy is delightfully deadpan, and isn't anywhere near perfect. He has a conniption fit when the wedding is moved from the house to a church, offers his daughter money to elope, and nervously steps back from the bride, fearful of falling. Bennett and Taylor allow Tracy to control the proceedings, making this a love letter to neglected wedding dads. Don Taylor is funny as the nervous groom, with Leo G. Carroll an effete wedding planner, so officious in his obvious distaste for all of the choices made and aghast at the house he has to re-arrange for the big event. Billie Burke and Moroni Olsen are amusing in their relatively minor roles as Taylor's parents. This is a humble production artistically, as it spoofs the pretensions of planning an event which really should be so personal and often is overstuffed like grand opera.

Steffi_P There's an old saying that the best ideas are the simplest. This is only partly true. The best ideas often stem from a basic concept, but one which yields wide-ranging and elaborate results, and then only if pulled off properly. Father of the Bride has a simple idea at its heart – a straightforward romantic comedy, told from the point of view of someone on the periphery of the romance. However that idea provides the basis for a neatly structured picture that is both funny and endearing.The screenplay, by the fantastic but rarely lauded husband-and-wife writing duo Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, tells a story on two levels. The actual events of the picture of chart the romance and wedding of a young couple, and this is more or less all that actually takes place on screen. However, the device of a voice-over narrative, as well as set-pieces such as the engagement party shown entirely from Spencer Tracy's position as involuntary butler, make this undoubtedly his story. The voice-over was a popular feature of thrillers around this time, but here it serves as a comical inner monologue and commentary. Telling the story through the father's eyes ultimately allows Goodrich and Hackett to make this a tale not of romantic love but of family and paternal affection, and one that is more moving than dozens of run-of-the-mill romcoms.Director Vincente Minnelli was perhaps an odd choice for this project. Having had his biggest successes with musicals, his flowing, flamboyant style could have been a bit over-the-top for such a small-scale real-world setting. However Minnelli's tendency to lead the audience in a certain direction, and his skillful control of elements within the frame bring a lot to Father of the Bride. He is careful to always keep the wedding story going, often literally in the background, while putting Spencer Tracy in the foreground to give us his expressions and reactions. Usually the background goings-on are very busy, helping them to balance out, as well as giving a better comedy effect as Tracy grumps about before the camera. In the scene where the Bankses meet the Dunstons, Minnelli begins successive shots with a close-up of Tracy's martini glass, to give the whole scene the overtone that he is getting more and more drunk as he speaks. One of Minnelli's brightest ideas is to shoot the chaotic wedding rehearsal in one long take from a distant high angle. Not only does this allow the comedy to unfold naturally, it introduces us to the setting but in a slightly detached way. This gives all the more contrast and intensity to the following nightmare sequence, which is all done in close-ups with dozens of cuts.In the titular role Spencer Tracy gives a typically engaging yet understated performance. This kind of thing was really Tracy's forte. He is essentially a comedy character, since it's his grouchiness and his bewilderment that underlie most of the funny bits. But he's not a wild comic – he's also very believable and very human, and more importantly someone we can like and sympathise with. Although Joan Bennett plays her role completely straight and very reserved, it makes sense for the two of them to be a screen couple. And while Katherine Hepburn had the best chemistry with Tracy and it was always nice to see them on screen together, Bennett is the more appropriate actress here, because she is more sedate and will not threaten to upstage Tracy, whose movie it is after all.And Elizabeth Taylor, a huge star even then and arguably the female lead, ultimately has a fairly marginal role both in the script and on the screen. Some commentators bemoan this fact, and even prefer the 1991 remake to this original as a result. And yet it is all organised in such a way – the Goodrich/Hackett screen writing, Minnelli's direction, Tracy's acting – that brings a depth and poignancy to the father-daughter relationship despite Taylor's minimal participation. Take moments such as Tracy's relieved smile as the camera pulls away with him from the young lovers' reunion after their argument, or his frantic searching for his daughter so he can say goodbye before she leaves for the honeymoon. They don't distract from the general pattern of this being the father's story, and yet they reveal his true feelings, sometimes better than many a conventional scene between two people who love each other.

jbekins TCM is showing this movie for Father's Day and they are so right. I wish I had the kind of father's love Spencer Tracy had for his daughter. Joan Bennett is so beautiful she could have been Elizabeth Taylor's real mother. This is about the very rich family Banks in the 1950's giving their daughter a wedding (the wedding the mother always wanted but never had). The love expressed by this family and the family of the groom is beautiful. The groom's mother the wonderful Billie Burke the Good Witch of OZ is great!! It's in Black and White and you know I think it is better this way because you see the people not the sets not the glamour of the places and costumes but the reality of their emotions. The funnest part is the dream Spencer has before the wedding, then his sweet little talk with Elizabeth before the big day. I have always thought "Father of Bride" should be co-billed with "A Catered Affair" with Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine It's also about the daughter getting married (Debbie Reynolds as the girl) but this family are working class. Also great acting and a great story more true to real life of the 1950's. I submit Father of the Bride a 10 because when I come across this movie on TV either in the beginning or the middle or near the end I always stop and watch it. Every scene is a gem.