Table 19 was not even on my radar, but it was playing at my favorite theater and a close friend that I regularly see movies with suggested it. Anna Kendrick is affable, but I am not a fan of her or any of the other cast members so I waited until it became available on DVD then devoured it immediately upon arrival from Netflix after work. I didn’t know much about the characters before embarking on my journey so I was pleasantly surprised by what I discovered.
Table 19 is not a traditional comedy or rom com even though it shares elements with those movies, including my fave, 80s music. The film is at its best when it takes what we expect from a wedding reception and a rom com then subverts it and gives permission through the characters to break the ridiculous rules of how things should go. There are unexpected twists and turns, big revelations among strangers and a transition from awkwardness and discomfort to a random camaraderie once they break the social norms.
The intergenerational friendship among the eclectic members of the table is credible and enjoyable. Each actor simultaneously was able to present him or herself as the last person that you want to be stuck with at a wedding and gradually reveal what makes his or her character individually appealing until their charismatic uniqueness was fully exposed. Each person convinced me that his or her character was the best part of the wedding party. When they come together as a group, the ensemble effectively depicts the dynamic of the group. The strongest part of the film is near the middle when they finally form an intimate friendship with each other. Table 19 captured a feeling that I have not had since The Breakfast Club.
While Kendrick is awarded the most clever speech and montage to introduce the group, June Squibb and Stephen Merchant steal the movie’s spotlight. There is also a dog. I normally can spot and cheer an interracial relationship without being given much to go on (hint: I spotted one in a certain Marvel summer 2017 blockbuster), but the chemistry between Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson was nonexistent. I know that they were supposed to be a married couple that lost the magic, but I never believed it was initially there.
While I didn’t mind the effort to humanize people who initially seem like jerks, when the movie became a rom com again, I was disappointed. I thought that we were not going to do that! I understand that Table 19 is trying to help us embrace our and others’ imperfections, but do I have to embrace it THAT much?
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I wish that movies would not promulgate the notion that you have to end up with the person that is the parent of your child. So many awful and hasty marriages are created that way. It is ideal to love and be committed to that person, but for such a sneakily subversive comedy, it would have been a significant victory to enjoy coparenting and becoming friends and a team after so much betrayal before automatically renewing the romantic relationship or even not resuming it at all, but still finding a new way to love each other. I can buy that Teddy is not as horrible as he initially appears and even empathize with his side of the story, but that does not automatically mean that they work well together as a couple.
Table 19 is a satisfying dramedy that will make you feel good, but the end felt like a disappointing moment of cowardice and clinging to convention after so bravely showing that when we try to fit into others predestined and reductive roles, we cannot fully be ourselves or know others, and it is when we cast off the polite social norms and depart from the agenda that we discover fulfillment and joy in each other.