Los Angeles, CA — Wednesday night I covered the raunchy, heartwarming, comedic masterpiece film, “The People We Hate at The Wedding!”
I was live on the red carpet in Westwood – my old UCLA stomping grounds- at The Regency Theater as the cast, writers, and producers arrived for the world premiere. I was super excited to see this star-studded cast led by Allison Janney and Kristen Bell in person! Not only did I get to walk the carpet and interview the cast, but I also got the invite to the super swanky screening of the film and the after-party.
Upon arrival at the event, I was shocked at the length and pizazz of the red carpet; right on theme and laid out to look like a wedding – with flower arrangements everywhere and pastel florals on display! I felt like I was attending a very Hollywood-chic wedding ceremony! With the press lined up under very bright lights, I rushed to my place on the carpet to start interviewing the cast. As more people arrived the crowd was filled with excitement and great energy; I definitely noticed that folks were there for Kristen and a peek at Dax Shepherd (who did arrive later to watch his lady’s new film and take photos with fans). I was able to snag interviews with Allison Janney, Jorma Taccone, Karan Soni, and Dustin Milligan, and the writers of the adapted screenplay Lizzie Molyneux-Loglin, Wendy Molyneux , among others!
Allison Janney leads the first-rate ensemble in “The People We Hate at the Wedding,” a lighthearted adaptation of the Grant Ginder novel of the same name from the director Claire Scanlon (“Set It Up”).
Overall, I laughed through the entire movie! This one is a good date night rom-com for the millennials like myself. Great character development and constant raunch added luster to this breezy family comedy. The film follows two struggling American siblings Alice (Kristen Bell) and Paul (Ben Platt), who reluctantly agree to attend the wedding of their estranged, and very wealthy half-sister (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in the English countryside alongside their mother, Donna (Allison Janney). Over the course of the wedding week, this family’s many skeletons tumble out of the closet – in the worst ways, at the worst possible times! It all leads to a viewer realizing that life and family may not be picture perfect, but if love is at the center of it all, that is the most important thing!…. *cue the tears that I usually cry at every wedding!*
Underneath all the plentiful raunch and high jinks-heavy, physical-comedy scenes, “The People We Hate at the Wedding” ended up being a very poignant good time! It has you celebrating imperfect yet perpetually endearing familial love, thanks to mostly Allison Janney for the win!
The after-party was my favorite part of the evening and was hosted at the W Hotel Westwood. When I walked in, I was met with amazing wedding-inspired food, drinks, and photo booths at each end of the party where you could choose your own floral arrangement to take home with you! There I spotted a few celebrities mingling in the private event like Jesse Bradford (a personal favorite of mine from my teen years), agents, press, and friends of the cast chatted and mingled until about midnight. I ate more than a week’s worth of delicious food and headed home myself!
This modern wedding comedy is for anyone with a slightly dysfunctional family (everyone), or anyone who’s been forced to attend a wedding they tried to avoid (also everyone)! The movie is streaming now on Amazon Prime.
