Ceremony

This romantic comedy from writer-director Max Winkler stars Michael Angarano as mediocre children's book writer Sam Davis, a New York twentysomething who hides his humanity behind thick layers of coarse irony and smug wisecracking. His pal Marshall (Reece Thompson) is a mumblecore-film cliché: a 25-year-old man-child, living with his parents, who's totally unable to function in modern society. In what seems like a coincidence, Sam and Marshall drive to an exclusive beach resort for a weekend excursion—but it turns out that Sam has ulterior motives. The pair end up smack in the middle of a beachside celebration for the upcoming wedding of Sam's ex, Zoe (Uma Thurman), who's about to marry an over-the-top pompous English documentary filmmaker (Lee Pace). Not surprisingly, chaos ensues when Sam tries to recapture Zoe's heart, with predictable bull-in-a-china-shop results. Thurman's surprisingly poor performance here suggests a bad Lisa Kudrow imitation; and while Angarano tries his best to exude charm, the amateurish script squelches any hope of sympathy for the protagonist. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (21 min.), a “Max Winkler Makes Ceremony” segment with the director (8 min.), behind-the-scenes footage (7 min.), an HDNet-produced promo featurette (5 min.), “A Year in a Tent” character short film (4 min.), outtakes (3 min.), an extended scene (3 min.), deleted scenes (2 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (M. Sandlin)