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Two out of Five stars
Running time: 97 mins

A tedious and unnecessary rehash of many better films, this serves only to cast further doubt on the credentials of Oscar winner Forest Whitaker and the big screen career of America Ferrera.

What’s it all about?
Lucia (America Ferrera) and Marcus (Lance Gross) decide it’s time to get married, but first they have to tell their parents about their relationship. Lucia worries how her Mexican family will react to a black son-in-law and Marcus hesitates in telling his womanising father Brad (Forest Whitaker) that he’s ready to settle down at such a young age. Predictably the two patriarchs fail to see eye-to-eye and with Miguel (Carlos Mencia) trying his best to scupper the impending wedding of his daughter and Brad trying hard to dissuade his son from long-term commitment, the couple don’t really stand a chance.

The Good
There’s nothing particularly offensive on offer here. The message is fairly wholesome and there are a couple of moments when things look like they might spark into life. The strict Catholic background of the Mexican family gives us a few laughs and Lucia’s attempts to reveal the truth to her parents will feel familiar to anyone who has gone through the awkward trauma of introducing a new partner.

The Bad
Tepid script aside, the performances also lack any real conviction. It’s as if the main characters are just going through the motions and even heavyweight Forest Whitaker can’t muster up the energy to bring any life to the film.

Shannyn Sossamon is criminally underused as one of the many notches on Whitaker’s bedpost and it’s sad to see such a great actress struggle to get five minutes of screen time. It’s also entirely unbelievable that Brad is such an irresistible ladies' man, given that he has nothing appealing to his personality. The plot struggles to make any of the characters either likable or believable, and though Ferrera tries her best to not look like her Ugly Betty character she inevitably acts exactly like her.

Worth seeing?
You’ll have to work hard to find a more tiresome and unfunny comedy on general release. Our Family Wedding isn’t outstandingly bad, just stupendously dull from start to finish.