My Wedding and Other Secrets is a kiwi love story. Short, Chinese, myopic film student Emily meets tall Caucasian nerd James at Auckland University and they fall in love. Emily lives at home with Mum and Dad and James lives in a flat with two computer science students. Emily keeps the relationship a secret from her parents because they expect her to date Chinese boys. The plot thickens when Emily suggests to James they get married so that she can use the student allowance to make a movie. Her plan is to make a horror movie but she ends up making a documentary about her relationship with James and revealing said relationship to her parents.
The Director and co-writer Roseanne Liang (on whose life the film is based) says its the story of "a selfish but well-intentioned girl" who learns about how both romantic love and familial love are important in life and how to balance and cherish those two kinds of love.
This film is a romantic comedy but it isn't light and fluffy at heart. There are definitely light elements - James' flatmates, Emily and James getting to grips with sex, the chicken head in the restaurant but there are dark moments as well - like neither James nor Emily's parents coming to the documentary screening. You will laugh but you're quite likely to cry as well.
I think I'll always have a soft spot for this film because falling for someone much taller than me while at Auckland University is something I can identify with. And I particularly like that the happy ending isn't manufactured to make a nice film - it really did work out well in the end with a happy couple and happy parents.
Anne's rating 4/5 Ian's rating 3/5
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
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