Table 19

Overview

When Table 19 begins, it would have you believe that there's nothing worse than being stuck at the random table at a wedding. There is. It's watching a film about being stuck at the random table at a wedding. Sure, in both situations you're stranded in a place that you mightn't want to be. But at least one has food, drinks and dancing to help pass the time.

For those sitting in the cinema, prepare for an experience that's awkward, tedious, cliched and sappy, as the newly single Eloise (Anna Kendrick) heads to her oldest friend's nuptials. She was once slated to be the maid of honour, but dropped out when she was dumped via text message by the bride's brother (Wyatt Russell). Relegated to the worst berth on the seating chart that she helped plan, she's soon sharing a table with a bunch of guests that "should have known to send regrets, but not before sending something nice off the registry".

Eloise's fellow undesirables include an ageing former nanny (June Squibb) thrilled to have even been invited, a hormone-fuelled teen (Tony Revolori) whose mother has told him to look for love, the obligatory weird cousin (Stephen Merchant) who's kindly but has a secret, and a bickering couple (Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson) who don't know why they're there. Obvious revelations and cheesy life lessons follow, flowing as freely as champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

We suppose you could commend director Jeffrey Blitz (Spellbound) and writers Jay and Mark Duplass (Jeff Who Lives at Home) for their effective recreation of an unpleasant situation, right down to the stylistic and structural choices that give the audience the same limited view of the main celebrations as the characters. No one should be rewarded for laziness, though, and if Table 19 excels at anything, it's that. The fact that everyone spends much of the movie arguing about what their table assignment means isn't the least bit amusing or entertaining, nor does it offer any real commentary about America's obsession with status. Instead, it simply feels like an attempt to pad out a by-the-book script that jumps between misfit comedy and rom-com, but doesn't stray from the familiar path with either.

It won't come as a surprise that this slice of supposed hilarity peddles a message about the joy that can arise from unexpected connections and making the most of a bad situation. Alas, as great as Kendrick, Merchant, Squibb and company have proven in the past, here they're average at best, and in some cases downright awful. Without any signs of character development, Kendrick's signature persona wears thin; you really have seen her do this all before. She fares better than some of her co-stars, however, who might find themselves wishing they didn't RSVP for their parts.