It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

An action-packed slog

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This film tells the story of a young man who convinces a friend to go to the beach for a holiday. What he truly plans is to crash his ex- girlfriend's wedding."Ceremony" has a strange title, because it is so descriptive and doesn't leave anything to the imagination. As for the film itself, the only is alright, but I have trouble getting the film because of the age difference between Sam and Zoe. Though I can see that the age difference is an integral part of the story, it still is not a believable romance. In addition, how Zoe gives off different and conflicting signals to Sam is quite unfair. I think it's not a particularly enjoyable romantic comedy.

I am so glad I saw this little gem. First of all, this movie says so much in such a small amount of time. Sam is in love with a woman who is getting married this weekend; and he is determined to stop it. Sam writes children's books , Zoe, the woman he loves is about to marry a big time "nature documentary" film maker, Whit. Marshall is along for this ride, but thinks he is there for some quality time with his best friend, Sam. There is a bit of that uncomfortable "social class" , high brow/low brow referencing here; but it unfolds beautifully and becomes clear what the story is saying. The "uber rich" don't really care about anyone, throw people away with no real consequences, behave badly, etc. Also, the age difference between Sam and Zoe is not that much, but enough to make a difference where understanding certain things come into play. I wont spoil it, but what Zoe tells Sam, he doesn't seem to understand how that could be. Which is a great life question: if you know something about someone, that should be damaging to any relationship, how do you successfully move on together? is it more mature? or is it not really love/caring about the other person? or is it completely loving and caring about that person? These are are very deep questions that are part of everyones lives , at one point or another. This is a fantastic film about love and what we all think really loving someone is actually about. The performances are wonderful, natural, and touching and at times very funny. We find that everyone, no matter what their "class", has the same idea of what love really is, and knows better than to treat others badly. Sam gets his truth in the end and realizes he deserves to not be a "dragonfly".

Watchable romantic comedy stars the diminutive Angarano as Sam, the man with the plan to whisk his true love (Thurman) away from her fiancé (Pace), moments away from the altar. Unfortunately for Sam, Thurman's character has outgrown their once-brief tryst and sees stability and maturity in her imminent marriage, even if Pace is somewhat egotistical and high on self importance.Not a lot happening here, with minor chuckles and melancholy moments the general tone, Thurman's towering height and obvious age, both dwarfing Angarano, who's seemingly behind the eight ball all the way. Thompson as his best friend begins to suspect a ruse when they're "inadvertantly" invited to the wedding, and the once strong friendship that has cooled over the years, serves as the film's dramatic baseline, not quite a bro-mance, but equally, something short of true romance. He also has a funny scene in which he naively pops a party pill with some amusing consequences.Director Winkler never really seems to find the right tenor, lost amid light humour (predominantly from Johnson as Thurman's drug-addled brother) and pathos with little content to develop and only the natural appeal of Angarano and Thurman off which to pivot. Mature, low-key and likable but there's not a lot achieved (in my opinion the R-rating also seems excessive).

I honestly did not enjoy this film. I found it slow, boring and utterly hard to follow. It is listed as a comedy, I didn't laugh once. This film tried hard to be an "arty" type film but came off disjointed, bawdy, sleep inducing and even utterly unrelated in parts. The characters were hard to get into, they didn't "gel" with each other. The scenes do not flow and jump around quite a bit and don't relate to each other. The characters were not believable and did not draw you in. They don't mesh with each other or fully give you a full picture of the relationship between characters. The whole way through this film you are guessing at the plot, at why a scene is playing out the way it is, and what is really going on. It is very obscure, not made any easier with the whole different storyline going on with Uma's character's brother. That confuses the whole plot even more. I struggled on with this film purely because I thought it would get better, and particularly I will admit because Uma was listed in it and I had enjoyed her acting in the past.Save yourself the bother and don't bother pressing play. Sorry Uma but you have acted in far better then this!