The Groomsmen

Like Orson Welles, Edward Burns acts in other people's films so that he can make his own, but whereas Welles was a genius, Burns most definitely is not, serving up semiautobiographical tales that consist mostly of navel-gazing among middle-class suburban New York guys fumbling toward maturity. In The Groomsmen, Burns plays Paulie, set to marry his pregnant girlfriend (who he's lived with for years), an event that serves as the catalyst for activity between him and the neighborhood pals who will be his groomsmen—his older brother, a goofy cousin, the local bartender, and a long-absent buddy, who left town mysteriously years before. The guys, it turns out, are a pretty loud, boisterous bunch who all have emotional problems they talk about endlessly; unfortunately, there's an extremely calculated feel to these scenes, which come across merely as clumsily mounted opportunities for Burns to spin out his rather banal dialogue, lame macho humor, and syrupy sentiment. One positive thing about the film is that it conveys a strong sense of place—but after an hour and a half in the company of The Groomsmen, you'll probably be happy you don't live in their neighborhood. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)