Interestingly, it seems that as of the last 20+ years films that are written as solely comedic are typically poorly written, whereas films that are deemed as drama/comedy, or what's known as dramedies, are typically a much better grade of the genre of comedy. Not to say there haven't been comedies that haven't shined, but all too many times they fall flat. So when I realized that "Table 19" was a dramedy, I had to see it since I really like comedies and miss well written ones.
Ex-maid of honor, Eloise McGarry (Anna Kendrick)--having been relieved of her duties after being unceremoniously dumped by the best man, Teddy (Wyatt Russell), who happened to be her boyfriend, via text message--decides to hold her head up high and attend her oldest friend, Francine's (Rya Meyers) wedding anyway. She subsequently finds herself seated at the 'random' table in the back of the ballroom with a disparate group of strangers, including Jerry Kepp (Craig Robinson), his wife Bina (Lisa Kudrow), Jo Flanagan (June Squibb), Renzo Eckberg (Tony Revolori) and Walter Thimple (Stephen Merchant), most of whom should have known to just send regrets (but not before sending something nice off the registry). As everyone's secrets are revealed, Eloise learns a thing or two from the denizens of the dreaded Table 19. Friendships--and even a little romance--can happen under the most unlikely circumstances.
Others to round out the cast are Charles Green as Mr. Manny, Thomas Cocquerel as Huck, Amanda Crew as Nikki, Margo Martindale as Freda Eckberg, Renzo's mom, Carlos Aviles as Jalapeno and Richard Taylor as Roger Millner as Francine's dad.
Even though the director, Jeffrey Blitz ("Spellbound" (Documentary) '02, "Rocket Science" '07, "Lucky" (Documentary) '10) plus TV, doesn't have extensive experience, his ability to extract the right emotion out of his characters is intriguing. Going from laughter to a dramatic tone is a difficult task and this filmmaker pulls it off with poignancy and finesse. It was executed well by team writers Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass. Each writer has a fair amount of film experience which pays off here whereas at a certain point of the film, they are basically asking us which people are the 'normal' ones: the outsiders at table 19 or all the others in the room? There were a few places of lack of continuity, but what makes this storyline most intriguing is the social statement it is clearly making. Typically our society believes that the majority dictates the norm. This can't always be a formula which can be used--it depends on the situation and/or people involved. As this story starts unfolding, we soon see that the norm are actually more at Table 19 than in the room--kind of negates that adage. Even though the room full of people, at first, came across as together and 'normal', we soon see that this becomes clearly not the picture, and I believe these two writers were attempting to convey this to us--the audience. And on the other side the coin, even though the one's at Table 19 are quirky, they were still real and could, at least, empathize with others unlike their counterparts in the room. If you liked these writers, they have two other films in the works.
The commentary of this film is certainly more intriguing than the story or the script, and with this, is a film all should see. It's subtlety is a bit preachy, however written in a way that doesn't come across that way. It's got a plethora of meaty eclectic characters which were rich in development. A fun film with a dramatic appeal indeed.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG-13 87mins.
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