The script is written by first time writer Jenny Lumet, who’s film experience is limited to acting in six unheard of movies in the late eighties, early nineties.  Already my expectations have sunk lower than the last time I went to McDonald’s.  The story follows recovering junkie Kym (played by Anne Hathaway) as she’s released from a nine month stint in rehab.  She returns to the affluent, Connecticut home of her parents, where her sister Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt) is preparing for one of the most retarded weddings ever filmed.  Kym is a narcissistic attention whore who will never let anyone focus on anyone but her, despite the fact she manages to ruin everything, and even killed her little brother while she was all hopped up on Percocet.  Surrounding these two main players is an insanely dysfunctional family, including their dad (Sesame Street’s Bill Irwin) who’s painfully socially retarded.

The movie is filmed mostly with handcams, giving it more of a documentary feel.  At one point, Demme chose to focus on 25 minutes of wedding toasts.  Toasts that are completely uninteresting until Kym (does this spelling bug the hell out of anyone else?) decides to give it a try, her talent in making situations incredibly awkward could put Ricky Gervais to shame.  In fact, if you like feeling really angry, awkward and embarrassed for two full hours, this is probably for you.  I’m not sure I bought Hathaway’s performance either.  She was like, the High School Musical version of a junkie.  She should have taken her cues from Jennifer Connelly in Requiem For a Dream.  Besides awkward pacing, and being a little boring, the characters were completely unlikeable.  I realize I’m in the vast minority in my opinion on this flick.  I probably just don’t ‘get it,’ but it was really a waste of time (half of the theater walked out during the unending wedding toast scene, so at least they agree with me), I would watch anything but this if you have a choice.

Bitchin' Stars: 1 out of 4 stars

Rottentomatoes: 88% – Cream of the Crop: 94%