Batsh*t Bride is a light romantic comedy. The best I can say about it is that it’s a humorous romp with a sweet story at its foundation. If this sounds fun, stop reading this review, rent Batsh*t Bride, and enjoy. But honestly, I want more laughs…clever laughs…as well as some depth in the story.
The best way I can describe the story is it lies on the surface and rarely goes beneath it. Heather becomes a Bridezilla because her deceased mother had a perfect wedding, and now it’s her turn, in honor of her mother. On the surface, seeking perfection turns Heather into a massive control freak as well as a raging narcissist. Meghan Falcone does a good job portraying Heather, but we’ve seen this person before and worse, especially if you’ve ever watched Bridezilla. You do want to dig deeper into Heather’s life and past so that we can connect with her. Her mother had a perfect wedding, so how does this translate into the mother/daughter relationship? Why were Heather and Bryce a couple in the first place? I’d love to know this in a way that’s not typical to the standard rom-com.
“…Falcone is good in the lead and dutifully carries us through from beginning to end.”
I have a similar criticism of the comedy. There are a lot of humorous moments in the film, but very few laugh-out moments. Comedy has set-ups and punchlines. The set-up connects the audience with a potentially funny situation, and then the punchline produces the laugh. The film is loaded with set-ups, but very few punchlines. Also, many of the jokes exist in a moment of time and feel like it’s there for the cheap laugh. Her friend Becky (Alicia Giangrisostomi) is a prominent lawyer, and just as she’s about to describe a date involving “butt stuff,” she’s interrupted by a call from the Attorney General. Funny, but how could “butt stuff” and the Attorney General be used later in the story. There’s just joke after joke, like this, and feels like the guy who feels like he has to make a funny comment out of everything no matter how benign.
Batsh*t Bride has its moments. Meghan Falcone is good in the lead and dutifully carries us through from beginning to end. There are thousands of comedies that you can stream that are as good as this. But Batsh*t Bride is going to have a problem distinguishing itself from those other titles competing for your time and bandwidth. It’s a film desperately looking for a way to break out from the pack and unfortunately, doesn’t.
"…can Heather connive her way into the wedding of her dreams?"
