1995 film by Charles Shyer
Father of the Bride Part II is a 1995 American comedy film starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, and Martin Short. It is a sequel to Father of the Bride, remake of the 1951 film Father's Little Dividend which was the sequel to the original 1950 titular film, and fourth installment overall in the Father of the Bride franchise.
Plot
Four years after the events of the first film, Annie Banks tells the family that she is pregnant. George begins to panic, believing himself too young to be a grandfather. He has his assistant make a list of people who are older than him, dyes his hair brown, and after the roof leaks, decides he and Nina should sell the home their children have grown up in if one more thing goes wrong with it.
Termites strike the house two weeks later. George sells the house to the Habibs without telling Nina. At dinner, after discussing whether the baby's last name will be hyphenated or not, George changes the subject by revealing the house has been sold. Nina is livid, as she and George have to be out in ten days and have no place to go. The Bankses stay at the mansion owned by Bryan's parents. As the MacKenzies are on a cruise in the Caribbean, the Bankses have to deal with their Dobermans, much to the chagrin of George, who is still paranoid from a previous mishap with them. Nina begins experiencing symptoms that bring up the concern of menopause. The following day, they visit the doctor and discover that, actually, Nina is pregnant, too.
Following these unexpected news, they have a chance meeting with Franck, Annie's former wedding planner, who is elated at both women expecting. Driving home, Nina and George have differing perspectives on the prospect of becoming new parents again. George switches gears, now believing he is too old to be a father again. His feelings come to a head when he and Nina go to Annie's and Bryan's house to announce their news. Nina brings his insensitivity to light and tells him not to come home.
Out for a walk, George notices that the street to their old house is blocked off and sees a demolition crew with a wrecking ball at the house, inferring that Mr. Habib plans to demolish it. Upset, George runs in and tries to stop them. He pleads with Mr. Habib not to tear down the house since he is going to be a father again, as there is sentimental value to it. George realizes that if he will have another child, he wants to raise it in the house in which his family grew up. When George offers to buy the house back, Habib agrees on the condition that George pay him $100,000 up front. George reluctantly gives in. The Bankses then move back into their house. As a way to further apologize to Nina, George hires Franck to do a double baby shower. A few weeks before the baby is due Bryan is called away to an emergency meeting in Japan, leaving Annie in George and Nina's care.
Meanwhile, Nina and Annie are moving along in their simultaneous pregnancies and need constant care from George. Matty and Franck take over when George is away at work. Franck turns a simple redecoration of Nina and George's new baby's nursery into a full-scale renovation/addition, which he calls, 'the baby's suite'. Eventually, all the stress and nights of sleep deprivation wear George out. When the suite is revealed, Franck offers George 'Vatsnik', sleeping pills from his native country, after George reveals he has not been getting enough sleep. George takes two pills which proves to be too high of a dosage and passes out before dinner. The family becomes worried, which is only increased when Annie goes into labor.
Franck takes over the role of driving the family to the hospital with a barely coherent George in tow. After being mistaken for a patient in need of a prostate exam, George regains full consciousness. Nina goes into labor shortly after they arrive at the hospital. George is cynical about the female obstetrician who fills in because their own is unavailable. Despite wanting his grandchild to be delivered by the same doctor who delivered his children, George comes to terms with the arrangement. Bryan soon returns to be with Annie, who gives birth to a boy while Nina gives birth to a girl, named George and Megan, respectively. George is happy to hold his grandson and daughter in his arms. Bryan and Annie later move to Boston with baby George, because Annie took a job there.
Reception
Box office
In its opening weekend the film made $11.1 million from 1,949 theaters, finishing second at the US box office.[2] It went on to gross $76.6 million in the United States and Canada and $103 million worldwide.[3]
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Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 52% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10.[4] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[6]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "Father of the Bride Part II is not a great movie and not even as good as its 1991 inspiration. But it is warm and fuzzy, and has some good laughs and a lot of sweetness."[7][8][9]
Soundtrack
Alan Silvestri returned to score the music for the film. The officially released soundtrack album contains the following 15 tracks:
- Give Me The Simple Life (by Steve Tyrell)
- Annie Returns
- Here Comes the Judge (Judge Tinkleberry's Theme)
- The Way You Look Tonight (by Steve Tyrell)
- Drivin' Me Crazy
- You Gotta Be Kiddin' Me
- When The Saints Go Marching In (by Fats Domino)
- Summer Montage
- George Walks
- Remembering Annie (Squirrel Montage) (by Ralph Waldman)
- Ain't Nobody Cheatin'
- Rush Down Corridor
- George Tells a Story About Divorce
- On the Sunny Side of the Street (by Steve Tyrell)
- End Credit Suite
Sequel
In 1996, Meyers confirmed that she and Shyer were planning a third installment in the Father of the Bride series, which would "have their characters confronting serious problems in their relationship – but ending up with a stronger bond than ever" - [10] though ultimately a sequel failed to materialize.[10] In 2014, reports arose regarding a gay marriage themed Father of the Bride 3, reportedly again directed by Shyer, which was said to focus on a 29-year-old Matty Banks after he announces his engagement to the son of a US Navy Seal.[11] Steve Martin denied the rumors on his social media, stating that he had neither seen a script, nor been offered the role.[11]
On September 25, 2020, a mini-sequel titled Father of the Bride Part 3(ish) premiered on Netflix's official YouTube channel and Facebook, reuniting most of the original cast from the first two films, and was directed by Nancy Meyers. The short film also acted as a charity event, raising funds for the World Central Kitchen during the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]
Controversy
In August 1997, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee listed Father of the Bride Part II along with G.I. Jane and Operation Condor as examples of Disney produced and distributed films perpetuating negative stereotypes, in particular referring to Eugene Levy's character as Mr. Habib as "a grotesque Arab character."[13]
