With the way things are going in the world right now, I felt in need of something a little less weighty.  This is part of not taking on more responsibility than is necessary.  There is only one Person capable of handling it all, and seeing how everything points to His glory, and that is God.  What He gives us is never beyond our capacity to handle.  Besides, to echo the Serenity Prayer, which is often wrongly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, there is wisdom in knowing the difference between what you can and cannot control.  Though those words were written by a protestant, that does not diminish their validity, or the fact that this is all applicable to today’s film, Mother of the Bride.  It is still a light movie, but the lessons hit the same nonetheless.

Before we meet the Mother of the Bride, we first need a fiancée.  That is Emma (Miranda Cosgrove), a social media something-or-other for a hotel chain (you know these kids these days with their nonsense corporate titles), who accepts the proposal of R.J. (Sean Teale).  This takes place in a picturesque London setting where they currently live, so I am guessing they are not leading a Christian lifestyle, though I could be wrong.  Once the glow of the moment sinks in a little, Emma has an important realization: she has not introduced her now fiancé to her mother, Lana (Brooke Shields). Lana lives practically on the other side of the world, working as a doctor in a medical research lab in San Francisco.  This is where Emma goes to break the news to mom, though Emma is hesitant.  With the fact that Emma’s father died when she was eight, and the accomplishments Lana has achieved, Emma feels a lot of pressure about what she is about to admit.  Lana presumes her only child is there to announce that she is going on to graduate school.  Instead, Emma lets on that not only is she staying in her current position, but that she is engaged . . . and the wedding is in a month in Phuket, Thailand.  Once the initial shock wears off, not to mention the initial disapprobation of marrying someone with initials instead of a whole name, Lana gives her approval to her daughter.  This is not the only surprise for Lana.  Not long after her arrival in Southeast Asia, she finally gets to meet R.J. and his father, Will (Benjamin Bratt).  Will just so happens to have been Lana’s boyfriend when they were in college at Stanford, and their relationship did not end well.  Lana is flustered by this development, though Will seems to take it in stride.  What gets her through is once more reminding herself that she is there for her daughter and R.J., who seems to genuinely love Emma.  Yet, even the specialness of the occasion of a mother helping her daughter plan her wedding is spoiled.  The company for which Emma is employed has hired Camala (Tasneem Roc) as the planner, and Camala’s job is to make sure the company’s brand is well represented in the upcoming nuptials.  This means co-opting many of the decisions to be made.  Hey, Catholic couples hire planners all the time, though it is rarely with an eye towards Instagram.  It is all starting to get to Lana, who, if you ask this Catholic, could use a retreat instead of resorting to Yoga.  Instead, she opts for listening to the advice of her best friend and other college classmate Janice (Rachael Harris), who tells Lana that she should hook-up with the hot doctor who has been eyeing her for the past few days, Lucas (Chad Michael Murray).  While Lana does not, thankfully, sleep with him, she does find herself repeatedly drawn into situations with Will.  First is a sort of class reunion on a supposedly deserted part of the resort’s beach that ends with them all skinny dipping.  When practically the entire guest list learns of these shenanigans, Emma is understandably upset with her grown mother behaving in this manner.  While Lana is apologetic, she points out to Emma that her daughter is losing sight of what is important about the big day due to all of Camala’s requirements.  Emma does not take this well, and it is Will that suggests that Lana and him get away for a little while to clear her head.  Though they do not go up to the mountain to pray in the Catholic tradition, the rocky outcrop does give Lana the right perspective.  However, there is a fresh problem in that the jeep that they took to get to this location will not start.  Emma’s idea is to climb down to the beach, start a fire, and wait for help.  As they do all this, Emma realizes her mother is right and sends people out looking for her.  They are found just as Will has convinced Lana that they are still right for each other and are about to kiss.  This rekindled romance is again snuffed out a few hours later when Lana overhears Will saying that he loves someone over the phone, and that he cannot live without this other person.  As before, Lana is trying to keep things together for Emma, though she does not make it through the ceremony without loudly crying.  Comedy, folks, comedy.  What Lana is, though, is distant from Will, and he does not understand why this would be the case.  It comes down to the moment when the bride and groom are about to leave on their honeymoon (in a different part of paradise, I suppose) when Will finally confronts Lana.  Despite her not wanting to make a scene, everyone agrees that they are right for each other.  As it turns out, that “other woman” is Katrina (Sue Swallow), Will’s assistant, who had personally brought a wedding ring for him to propose to Lana.  She says yes and we close with some kind of choreographed wedding dance because why not?

One of the interesting words for a Catholic reviewer spoken in Mother of the Bride is “miracle.”  It is said by Will when he is on the deserted shore with Lana, using it to describe the improbability of them being at this place and time.  While his usage is a little closer to the actual meaning of the word, it is one that is bandied about far too often.  I am no less guilty of it, uttering clichéd phrases like “by some miracle” when I want to be dramatic or funny, or both.  Yet, what is a “miracle,” exactly.  The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as, “A marvelous event not ascribable to human power or the operation of any natural force and therefore attributed to supernature, esp. divine. agency. . . .”  That “divine” there, by the way, is what our increasingly non-Christian world utilizes as a placeholder for God so that they can get around any appearance of being Christian.  I suppose there have similar occurrences in other religions, but Christianity is unique in them being a central part of what we believe.  In other words, and while I am no keen observer of such traditions, you hear much more about Divine intervention in a Christian context than you do in any other.  This is because there really is only one God, who gave us the greatest miracle of all with the birth and death of His only son, Jesus.  Everything else He does for us out of love for us pales in comparison, but that is not meant take away the validity of whatever you believe is a miraculous happening in your own life.  Now, not all of these things are from God, but rather mere coincidence.  At the same time, coincidences are difficult to explain in their own right.  One can chalk up Lana and Will reuniting as they do as purely happenstance.  Yet, the odds of it happening at all are quite low.  I would also, in a Catholic sense, shy away from calling it fate.  Fate implies a lack of free will and that is something God gives each of us.  Lana and Will made the decision to attend their children’s wedding.  Who knows?  Maybe God had a hand in making this happen?

I know I mentioned in the synopsis of Mother of the Bride that there is a skinny-dipping scene.  That is perhaps the worst part, but there is nothing shown.  Otherwise, it is a fairly sweet, if predictable, romantic comedy.  It has a few people in it that will make you wonder where you have seen them before, though that is not the most ringing endorsement.  I guess what I am trying to say is that it is just fine.