'Rachel Getting Married' review

Anne Hathaway (Credit: Sony Classics)

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Released temporarily from rehab and forever scarred from causing a car accident that killed her little brother, Kym (Anne Hathaway) returns home just in time for her older sister Rachel’s (Rosemarie DeWitt) wedding. Kym’s presence sparks numerous conflicts with Rachel, their dad (Bill Irwin) and mom (Debra Winger), with fights and other major discussions broken up by cheerfully routine stuff like wedding rehearsal toasts and who-can-fill-the-dishwasher-the-fastest competitions.

The buzz: A big hit at the Toronto Film Fest, director Jonathan Demme’s first non-doc since 2004’s “The Manchurian Candidate” has already garnered loads of glowing reviews and some strong Oscar potential for Hathaway. Fortunately, most people seem to have forgotten that other recent, depressing-family-at-a-wedding movie, “Margot at the Wedding.”

The verdict: Like Kym, “Rachel Getting Married” isn’t sure if it can be happy, and seems slightly off when it tries. (The coincidences of Kym running into an old rehab acquaintance and seeing the best man in a recovery meeting are likewise unconvincing.)  But the movie knows misery, and a good performance from Hathaway and even better one from DeWitt support an emotional gauntlet worth braving. You gotta wish the snarky stuff was toned down -- a few disaffected lines will make you think Kym is Juno’s older sis -- but there’s no denying the heavy burden of guilt and shame that weighs on Kym, nor the film’s ability to unravel family tension like stitches tearing open.

Did you know? Apparently, says Kym, going to rehab makes you fat. Which clearly makes it, like, so not worth it.

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